Man Utd confirm agreement to sign Varane

Carlo Garganese

• 27 Jul 2021 13:22 CDT
• 3 min read

Manchester United have announced that they have reached an agreement to sign Raphael Varane from Real Madrid for a fee believed to be in the region of €50 million.

A statement on Tuesday night read: "Manchester United is delighted to announce the club has reached agreement with Real Madrid for the transfer of French international defender and World Cup winner, Raphaël Varane, subject to a medical and to player terms being finalised."

The Red Devils have been in the market for a top-class centre back all summer and have now finally got their man.

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Varane has agreed a contract believed to be worth around €12m-a-year until 2026.

He will partner Harry Maguire at the heart of the defence as Man Utd continue an impressive transfer window that has already seen them splash €85m on Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho.

Real Madrid lose both centre backs

The transfer of Varane is a big blow to Real Madrid, who had been desperate to keep the France international.

Madrid earlier this summer already lost their long-term captain and talisman Sergio Ramos on a free transfer to PSG.

And now they are also losing Ramos’ centre-back partner Varane as well.

Madrid had offered Varane a new contract until 2024 with the option of a further year, but the 28-year-old made it clear that he desired a new challenge after 10 years in the Spanish capital.

Varane's career so far

Varane started his career at Lens, making 24 appearances in Ligue 2 as a teenager before being signed by Real Madrid in 2011.

He went on to make 360 appearances for Madrid in a decade at the Santiago Bernabeu, scoring 17 goals.

Varane has won three La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues among a plethora of honours.

He made his France debut in 2013 and has since amassed 79 caps for his country, scoring five goals. He won the 2018 World Cup and was a runner-up at Euro 2016.

Madrid will now focus on finding a replacement for Varane. They have already signed David Alaba on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, and the Austria international could now start in the left centre back role next season.

Alongside him, the favourite to replace him had been Sevilla central defender Jules Kounde, but he now looks likely to join Chelsea.