Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has fallen out of favour with manager Erik ten Hag and looks set for a January move abroad. Below, we explain how the pair’s relationship collapsed.
Erik ten Hag and Raphael Varane’s broken relationship explained
In August 2021, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made what many Manchester United fans described as one of the club’s biggest and best signings post-Sir Alex Ferguson by bringing in Raphael Varane from Real Madrid.
He joined as a 28-year-old in the prime of his career for a deal worth over £40m including add-ons, bringing a wealth of experience to the dressing room at Old Trafford including a World Cup winner’s medal, four Champions League titles and three La Liga crowns.
The Frenchman has struggled with injury problems during his time at the club but despite being Ten Hag‘s first choice centre-back last season, he’s seen his role diminish to a rotation player who gets occasional minutes in recent times.
Ten Hag and Varane’s relationship took a hit when the 30-year-old was reportedly involved in a ‘frank exchange of views’ with the Dutchman after he was dropped for the Manchester derby in October in favour of Jonny Evans.
Harry Maguire‘s return to form has made it even more difficult for Varane to break back into the fold, and he was also believed to be unhappy when Victor Lindelof partnered Maguire against Luton before the international break when Evans was injured.
🚨🚨🎙️| Erik ten Hag on falling out with Raphael Varane:
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. There is internal competition, when you have to decide on two players who are brilliant. Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane, you have to make a decision.” pic.twitter.com/gSF8af5d0O
— centredevils. (@centredevils) November 24, 2023
Varane set to seek Saudi switch in January in bid to return to regular football
Ten Hag has publicly denied any notion of a fallout with the player who played a key role in United’s Carabao Cup triumph last season, where the club ended an almost six-year trophy drought.
Many believe Varane could be the next big star to make the move to Saudi Arabia and the thought of teaming up with the man he shared a dressing room with at Real Madrid and United, Cristiano Ronaldo, could be attractive.
According to SportsLens‘ exclusive Raphael Varane next club odds, he is favoured to join Bayern Munich in the January window – with a return to Madrid also on the cards, as well as interest from PSG.
Ten Hag can add Varane to the list of high-profile stars he’s engaged in spats with during his time in the hot seat at Old Trafford, which includes Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho.
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