Manchester United defender Raphaël Varane appears unwilling to leave Old Trafford, although new owners INEOS could have an impact on the situation.
Reports on the Frenchman’s future are contradicting each other: Real Madrid are reportedly considering snapping up the former World Cup winner. However, interest from a major competitor could keep it out of the running. The Valdebebas club said they wanted to sign a cheap defender who would not impact their summer financial plans. Varane has a high salary, but given his contract is nearing the end and he is not playing at United, it was thought this could be a good thing for Los Blancos.
Carlo Ancelotti reportedly intends to bring him back to Santiago Bernabéu, although the club have denied this is an option. Sport claim that Bayern Munich are looking to solve their own defensive problems by signing Varane, which is not a problem in itself. But their willingness to put up to 20 million euros on the table for Varane could well be.
Real Madrid are notorious for not giving contracts longer than a year to people in their 30s, and signing Varane for a fee would go against their transfer policy of the last five years or so. Los Blancos might be tempted to spend on a younger option with the potential to break into the first team, but it seems unlikely they would spend around half that amount on an aging Varane.
