It is already official. United have signed Raphael Varane (28 years old). Although the exact amount in which the transfer has been encrypted has not been disclosed, there are sources that suggest that the business has finally closed at 50 million euros, an intermediate amount between the 70 that Madrid intended to receive and the 40 that it began offering United. Varane, current world champion with France, arrived in Madrid when he was 17 years old. It was an express recommendation from Zidane. Now he leaves Madrid after 11 successful seasons in which he has won four Champions (three of them start in the final), three leagues, a King's Cup, three Spanish Super Cups, three European Super Cups and four Club World Cups.
United have been trying to sign Varane for several seasons, but this summer was the most auspicious moment. The center-back only had one year left on his contract at Real Madrid (until 2022) and for the white entity it meant selling him now or letting him go free in the summer of 2022. All, after Varane himself did not accept the renewal offer that Real Madrid put on the table.
Real Madrid is in a kind of war economy due to the fall in income due to the pandemic. This is the main reason why he could not offer Varane the contract that the world champion wanted. It is there where United crossed paths, which did cover their claims. Either way, the hope of the French central, until the last moment, has been to be able to renew with the white club. In fact, he waited to be able to speak with Ancelotti, with the idea that the technician would force the entity to raise his renewal offer and could thus continue to wear white. But it was impossible for the coffers of the Bernabéu entity.
Madrid, in this context, had already made the decision that Varane was the best player with whom it could make cash to balance the accounts not only for the 2021-21 season, which is now closed, but for the 2021-22. These 50 million euros are an important oxygen balloon, because it is clear that the player, for whom only 11 million euros were paid in 2011, was largely amortized. It was Real Madrid itself who gave United permission to negotiate with Varane. When the English player and club reached an agreement, the official negotiation between Madrid and Manchester began, which has lasted until today and has had two different parts, llast, after the face to face between Varane himself and Ancelotti.
Ancelotti has seen how Madrid's starting center-back pair of the last five years has disappeared just in a few days. Ramos left at the end of his contract and Varane a year before it ended. Now everything is in the hands of Militao (22 years old), who made a brilliant end of the campaign by consolidating his position when precisely Ramos was injured in the knee, and Nacho, who also took a step forward in the absence of the captain. Nacho has renewed and ends in 2023.
It only remains to know what decision Madrid will make with respect to the central quarter. The normal thing would be for him to use Vallejo, who has had a good performance in his loan to Granada this last season, but there are also two homegrown players who have entered that equation: Victor Chust, captain of the Castilla that was used last year by Zidane, and Gila, of which Ancelotti has very good reports. The preseason games will serve the coach to test all three.