A sad day for Raphael Varane and all football fans as he hangs up his boots at the age of 31.
Manchester United fans will never forget his unveiling at Old Trafford when he marched on to the centre of the pitch and stood in front of the Stretford End.
A Rolls Royce of a defender amassing a World Cup in 2018, four Champions Leagues, and 3 La Liga titles. He was also central to our EFL and FA Cup wins in the last two seasons.
Injuries disrupted Varane’s time at United, but he still managed 68 appearances during his three year spell. His retirement is surprising given his age but United fans will remember an uncomfortable looking figure during his time at the club. His running form seemed very different to the player we had watched glide across the backline at Real Madrid for all those years.
It will be interesting to understand how his body has failed him and led to announcing his retirement but the knee injury he sustained on Como debut won’t have helped.
Equally, this could see momentum gather for the excessive number of games top flight players are now required to play. Varane has always been vocal on this issue and may emerge as the face of that movement which is slowly gathering pace.
United fans will now ponder what injuries Varane managed during his time at United. How did he manage to conjure his brilliant performance in last years FA Cup final win? That game and his time at United is testament to the player, his loyalty to the club and his professionalism. It was special to see Varane in a United shirt albeit he was managing what we know now to be significant fitness issues. Varane will go down as one of the finest central defenders of his generation. What a player.
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