French International Confirms Summer Offer From Man Utd

The summer transfer window is now closed for another year but it’s not time to look back on those deals that didn’t go through and those that are being lined-up for the future. Today, Raphael Varane confirms he turned down Man Utd….

French international defender Raphael Varane has confirmed he turned down a summer approach from Manchester United in favour of staying with Real Madrid, according to the Mirror.

Jose Mourinho spent around £150m this summer revamping the United squad after coming in as Louis van Gaal’s replacement with Eric Bailly, Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all making the move to Old Trafford.

United were also heavily linked with Varane throughout the summer with the Mirror reporting back in June that the Red Devils were in negotiations with Madrid about a potential big-money deal for the centre-back.

Mourinho knows Varane well from their time together in Spain having been the man to take him to the Bernabeu from Lens in 2011 and it appears he was keen for a reunion at Old Trafford this summer.

The 23-year-old has now confirmed that United did in fact try to lure him away from Madrid and while Varane says it wasn’t easy to say no to Mourinho, he decided to remain with the La Liga giants and fight for his place under Zinedine Zidane.

When asked about a summer offer from United, Varane is quoted as saying by the Mirror:

“Of course it’s flattering. Manchester United are a very big club.

“But from the moment when Madrid and I are in sync on my project, there’s no questions to ask yourself.

“I have always said I feel good in Madrid. It’s not easy to say no to Jose Mourinho, but you have to weigh up the pros and the cons.

“We’re men, we have decisions to make and that’s how it is.”

Varane’s future was in doubt earlier in the summer after struggling to establish himself as a first team regular at Madrid but the French international seems to have forced his way in to Zidane’s plans having started all three of their games so far this season.

It would have come as a big blow for United to have been rejected by Varane as he’s one of the best young defenders in world football and would have been a superb addition to Mourinho’s squad.

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However, they did end up signing Bailly from Villarreal and the Ivory Coast youngster has enjoyed a superb start to life in the Premier League so I’m sure Mourinho has high hopes for the 22-year-old.