Man Utd and a decade of pursuing Raphael Varane 2
In early March, right before Varane rejected Real’s last attempt to keep him, the path that led the French midfielder to Man Utd began to take shape.
How is life in the UK different from Spain?
After 10 years with Real, Varane has all the titles and is aiming for a completely new experience.
Varane pondered, but Man Utd was equally cautious.
Four months later, the suspense turned into a sigh of relief in the last week of July, when Man Utd Executive Vice President Ed Woodward returned to the office from a short vacation.
Varane has been eyeing the possibility of joining Man Utd for a long time, specifically in the summer of 2020, when he had two years left on his contract with Real.
There is no shortage of interest from the big guys for a player like Varane.
The Old Trafford team does not want to `put all their eggs in one basket`.
Man Utd has one of the squads with the youngest average age in the Premier League and often targets young targets with the opportunity to profit in the future, once sold to other clubs.
With his abilities, Varane will become a support for other teammates.
Although he does not possess the speed of Rio Ferdinand at his peak – who the 28-year-old midfielder is often compared to, nor is he as fast as Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, in short distances, Varane’s speed is still a special plus point.
Even though the press reported Varane’s possible breakup, Real still tried to keep him.
Varane’s appearance promises to help Man Utd become more stable at the backline.
At the end of the 2021 winter transfer window, Man Utd began to pay more attention to Varane, as the parties regularly maintained talks.
Since he was playing football in France, Varane has loved the Red Devils of Manchester.
In the years following the Sir Alex and David Gill era, Man Utd were often criticized for their complex approach to dealings, but in the case of Varane, sources described them as having done things `quite well`.
Matt Judge, who is now assigned the position of Man Utd’s Director of Negotiations, played a catalytic role in the Varane deal.
Finally, in April 2021, when they felt they could no longer convince Varane to stay, Real did not want to be in the situation of losing the French midfielder and was willing to let him leave for a suitable price.
After painful lessons in the past, Man Utd at that time determined to prioritize the transfer of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund, which was also the club’s top target in the 2021 summer transfer period.
