Manchester United defender Raphael Varane bid farewell to international duty on Friday night at the Stade de France after making a total of 93 appearances for his country and winning the World Cup in 2018.
The 29-year-old announced his retirement from international football earlier this year following France’s World Cup final defeat to Argentina.
Last night, he was paraded on the pitch along with Hugo Lloris, Blaise Matuidi and Steve Mandanda ahead of their 4-0 win over the Netherlands.
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The centre-back made the decision to prolong his career and focus on United, which we all thought was a fantastic idea.
Varane has been excellent for United since joining from Real Madrid in 2021, although he has had some injury problems. Many of those were picked up during international breaks.
Speaking to GQ, Varane revealed that playing in the Premier League can be a gruelling challenge: “The level of competitiveness in England is incredible. We played fifth in La Liga (Real Betis) and the last in the Premier League (Southampton) the same week and frankly it’s hard to know what the most difficult match was.
“We had won so much in Madrid, that one more victory was just normal and one defeat was the crisis. But in England every victory brings great satisfaction because the energy expenditure is enormous. It’s another football and it has revived my passion and desire to win every game.”
Varane turns 30 in April and sounds focused on finishing his career strongly.
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