” Legend “ : this is the term that came up most often during the day on Wednesday, after Raphaël Varane announced his retirement. Already retired from the international landscape after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the French central defender has this time drawn a line under his first life in professional football.
And the least we can say is that this announcement caused a strong wave of emotion in the football world. These reactions did not only concern French football, since international stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo and Sergio Ramos, who shared the Real Madrid locker room with Varane, wanted to pay tribute to the 2018 world champion.
The Blues salute a legend of the selection
But it is obviously in the small family of the France group, formed like a club, that the information surprised the most. If Karim Benzema shared more highlights with Varane at Real than with the Blues jersey, the 2022 Ballon d’Or remained an accomplice from the start. Jointly injured before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, the two friends shared strong moments. “High-class manure. Well done “,
thus wrote the 2022 Ballon d’Or in a story.
Paul Pogba, for his part, made his debut in Blue at the same time as his comrade from the 1993 class. It was in 2013, during a shock against Spain. “What a pleasure to have shared these moments with you”wrote the 2018 world champion, with emojis in the shape of heart. Same tone for world champions Florian Thauvin, Blaise Matuidi, Alphonse Areola and even Djibril Sidibé, who all wanted to say “thank you for everything” to this great defender in the history of the Blues. Kylian Mbappé, for his part, liked the central defender’s post, when coach Didier Deschamps greeted “
a player turned towards others and towards the collective” And “a great professional”. “For that and for everything else, we must say a big thank you.”
