Raphael Varane: Top 10 career highlights as former Man Utd and Real Madrid centre-back retires

Raphael Varane

Raphael Varane played for Real Madrid, Man Utd and France in his career

Former Real Madrid and Manchester United centre-back Raphael Varane has announced his retirement, bringing an end to his 14-year career in senior football.

Varane signed a two-year contract at Serie A side Como in the summer but sustained a serious knee injury on his debut and has now decided to hang up his boots.

“I hold myself to the highest standard, I want to go out strong, not just holding on to the game,” the 31-year-old said. “It takes a big dose of courage to listen to your heart and your instinct.”

We’ve taken a look at 10 of the highlights from his glittering career at club and international level, listing them in chronological order.

His first La Liga title

After enjoying an impressive breakthrough season at RC Lens in 2010/11, Varane attracted interest from a number of clubs and joined Madrid in a €10million deal.

The centre-back acted as a back-up to Sergio Ramos and Pepe in his debut season but still made 15 appearances in all competitions. He also got the first major trophy of his career as Madrid won the La Liga title.

His France debut

Varane represented France at various youth levels before making his senior debut against Georgia in a World Cup qualifier in March 2013. He helped Les Blues secure a 3-1 win and won a lot of plaudits for his performance.

“Raphael is different, I can’t remember anyone like him because he is only 19 years of age,” manager Didier Deschamps said.

“He is an exceptional case, a natural that dominates his position and makes the difficult things look easy. Because of all that he is in the Real Madrid side and now the national team. Defensively he is very clever.”

The 2014 Champions League

Varane was named in the starting line-up for the 2014 Champions League final against Atletico Madrid due to an injury to Pepe.

He played the full 120 minutes and helped Los Blancos to the fabled ‘La Decima’ – a 10th Champions League triumph – as they dramatically beat their city rivals 4-1 in Lisbon.

France captaincy

Varane continued to impress at international level and was nominated for the Young Player of the Tournament award at the 2014 World Cup.

In October 2014, the then 21-year-old became the youngest player to captain France as he took the armband at half-time from Blaise Matuidi in a 3-0 win over Armenia.

He went on to wear the armband for the national side another 19 times before retiring from international duty in February 2023.

His second La Liga title 

After a five-year drought, the 2016/17 campaign saw Real Madrid win the La Liga title by finishing three points ahead of Barcelona.

Varane struggled with injury problems but still made 23 appearances in the top flight over the course of the season and kept eight clean sheets.

The 2017 Champions League final

Varane missed the 2016 Champions League final win over Atletico Madrid due to a hamstring injury but got over that disappointment by helping Madrid reach the 2017 final.

The centre-back played the full 90 minutes against Juventus and a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo and goals from Casemiro and Marco Asensio gave Madrid a 4-1 win.

Their success meant that Varane became the youngest defender to win the trophy three times, beating the record set by AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini.

The 2018 Champions League final

Madrid reached a third successive Champions League final in 2018 and came up against Liverpool at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv.

Varane started alongside Ramos once again and a brace from Gareth Bale and a goal from Karim Benzema gave Madrid a 3-1 win.

Dani Carvajal, Francisco Gento, Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo, Paolo Maldini, Alfredo Di Stefano, Jose Maria Zarraga, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos are now the only players to have won the European Cup more than Varane.

The 2018 World Cup

After winning the Champions League at the end of the 2017/18 season, Varane then switched his attention to international duty.

The France international went to Russia for the 2018 World Cup and played every minute of the tournament under Deschamps.

He kept four clean sheets at the tournament, scored in the quarter-final victory over Uruguay and helped France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final.

“It’s been a great season for me. I don’t realise what I am living through,” he said after the final. “It is something enormous and fantastic.

“My career began spectacularly, and now at 25, I’ve won the World Cup. … I have no words for what I feel. I hope this continues.”

Varane came seventh in the 2018 Ballon d’Or award and was also named as the starting centre-back for both the 2018 FIFPro Men’s World 11 and the UEFA Team of the Year.

His third La Liga title

Varane was one of the first names on the Madrid teamsheet in the 2019/20 season, starting 32 of their 38 games in La Liga.

He kept 16 clean sheets and conceded just 21 goals in the league as Madrid won the title and finished five points ahead of Barcelona.

The 2024 FA Cup final

Having won 18 trophies in 10 years at Madrid, Varane decided to pursue a new challenge in the summer of 2021 and joined Manchester United.

The centre-back was plagued by injury problems during a three-year stint at Old Trafford, but he bowed in style at the end of the 2023/24 season.

He nullified the threat of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland in the FA Cup final and helped United secure a 2-1 win at Wembley.

“I fought a lot to be back on time and finally I could play that final and help my teammates,” he said after the game. “So yeah, it’s emotional.

“I mean I came back for love. Love for my teammates, for the fans and fighting for another trophy. So at the end, it’s very emotional but I’m very happy.”

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Raphael Varane

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