Former France international Raphael Varane, has acknowledged that, besides Old Trafford, there are two other places where he might want to call it a career.
After a hit-and-miss debut season, the veteran defender has successfully settled into Manchester. However, Red Devils supporters might not want to develop a strong emotional attachment to the Frenchman after learning that he has begun to consider his retirement plans and the locations where he might decide to put up his boots.
After France lost to Argentina in the World Cup semifinals, the 29-year-old has already decided to end his time playing for France at the international level. Varane gave an explanation for his choice when questioned about it, lashing out at the 'overloaded' fixture calendar and describing how he felt "suffocated" while traveling with his country.
Raphael Varane is beginning to make plans for when he eventually has to end an illustrious career that has seen him win the Champions League alone on four occasions, even though a similar statement regarding his club future may not be imminent.
The first step is choosing the venue and team for which he makes the announcement, with Varane keeping open the possibility of a return to Lens, where his career got started, or Real Madrid, where the defender spent ten years.
The world cup winner was questioned about whether United would be the team that would have him until the end of his career while speaking to the French version of GQ Magazine, as he acknowledged it's "a serious option."
"I will finish my career either in Madrid, or in Manchester, or in Lens. I will not move to another club [other than those]," the World Cup winner explained.
"But Madrid seems complicated to me. Players don’t usually go back there. The most likely outcome today is that I will finish [my club career] in either Manchester or Lens."
As Varane approaches the age of 30, the 29-year-old also addressed the hotly debated issue of the overabundance of fixtures, explaining that players can suffer from a steep decline or injury issues if they don't resign sooner rather than later.
"Recent seasons have always finished later and started earlier. We didn’t have time to work physically and when we weren’t playing we only had time for recovery."
"You can do this for a few seasons but after a while you either crash, or you are unrecognisable [from the player you were] for six months or a year in the field, or you get injured. That’s what happens to all great players and that’s what I want to avoid."
Raphael Varane's contract with United still has more than two years remaining, so Real Madrid or Lens will need to spend a significant amount of money if they want to try and lure the defender away from United any time soon and facilitate the happily ever after.
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