Raphael Varane has hinted at a possible destination for his future in football after he played his final match for Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
The 31-year-old Manchester United defender is out of contract at the end of June and confirmed this month he would leave Old Trafford in the summer.
Raphael Varane has been limited to 32 appearances across all competitions in the 2023-24 season due to injuries, having managed only 16 Premier League starts.
United boss Erik ten Hag had missed the influence of the former Real Madrid star in his backline and his partnership alongside Lisandro Martinez in the 2023-24 season.
Varane struck up a formidable partnership with Lisandro Martinez in Erik ten Hag’s debut season at Old Trafford and the pair impressed as a defensive force.
However, Martinez’s run in the first team for the 2023-24 season was curtailed due to injuries and Ten Hag was forced to try different defensive partnerships.
However, Varane and Martinez were reunited in the backline for one final time at United and the pair showed exactly what the club lacked in the season.
The two United centre-backs put on a commanding display in the backline and were pivotal for the Red Devils after Ten Hag’s men took the lead in the first half.
Varane on his future post-Man Utd
Erik ten Hag ended Manchester United’s turbulent season on a high note after the Red Devils’ 2-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Pep Guardiola’s men struggled against a commanding performance from United, with Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho scoring in the first half.
Jeremy Doku pulled one back for City with a long-range strike late in the second half, but United weathered the storm and clinched a huge win over their rivals.
Raphael Varane was able to bow out of Old Trafford with his second major silverware as a United player after the FA Cup triumph on the weekend.
Varane, who was heavily linked with the Saudi Pro League in 2023, can be snapped up by a club as a free agent once his contract expires at the end of June.
Speaking after the FA Cup final, the former France international admitted that his future is still up in the air and his main focus was to play for United one last time.
However, Varane refused to rule out the potential location of France in his future, having started his professional career at Lens before signing for Real Madrid in 2011.
“I don’t know [where I will go],” he told beIN Sports, as per Get French Football News.
“I’ll take time to think. I just wanted to come back in time for the final.
“A return to France? Everything is possible. I’m at the end of my contract. It’s the first time that has happened in my career, so I’ll take the time to really think.”
Ten Hag on Man Utd’s injury record
Speaking after the FA Cup final win, Ten Hag insisted that United’s performance showed the problems the club has faced amid the wave of injuries in the season.
“We didn’t have the players. You are right we have seen the same thing; it has not always been good football,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“But we have had to make a lot of compromises and then you can’t play the football you want to play.
“I have been here two years and we have maybe had three or four times when we have had the full squad available.
“Today again we have had players like Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Casemiro not on board.”