Raphael Varane knows that Real Madrid is already negotiating to transfer him to Manchester United. It does not take him by surprise, as it was his decision not to accept the renovation offer of the white club which precipitated that Madrid put him on the market, in which it will be the last opportunity to get an amount for him; Next summer he would be free and the Madrid team needs every euro it can raise to balance the accounts, as it has been doing in the last two years with a commendable effort, and incidentally to finance the hypothetical purchase of Mbappé, if it occurs.
In this context, what Varane is clear is that he does not want to go to two different preseason this summer. The French center-back’s wish is for the sale to take place in the next few days to avoid joining Madrid in Valdebebas, under Carlo Ancelotti, and thus being able to go directly to Manchester to start working with his new teammates.
The margin, yes, is slim: supposedly, Varane should return to work on Wednesday 21, although he would probably do it later, towards the end of the week. That is the margin that Madrid has to close the transfer of the defender before he has to join, although the white club is much less concerned about that situation. Madrid is focused on getting a good amount. At United, Solskjaer recently cleared a question on the subject: “I’m not talking about players from other clubs.”
And it is that both clubs now play a game of poker in which poorly thrown streetlights are going to pay dearly. The positions of both players are clear: Madrid wants to sell, United wants to buy. And the player accepts the move, in which he will win much more than he has been receiving in Madrid (six million net per season). The amount of the transfer is the key, Madrid started the negotiations placing the scale at 70 million, an amount that it knows is not realistic for a player with only one year of contract and in the current context of economic crisis in football.
Madrid-United for Varane: a game of poker
United, for their part, has so far reached a figure above 50 million, and the positions are at a standstill. Neither of them are in a hurry, but Varane is, and that probably benefits Madrid, as United could feel obliged to improve the proposal in order to satisfy their new player. The white idea: that the sale is sealed this week at around 60 million, a great price for a player who, in Madrid, has already done practically everything.
Varane arrived in Madrid from Lens in 2011, on the express recommendation of Zidane. Mourinho accepted the advice and he became the fourth white center-back, after Carvalho, Pepe and Albiol (Ramos was still acting as a right-back at that time, that course confirmed his conversion to center-back). In ten years, he has started three Champions League finals, lifted four European Cups, won three Leagues and a lot of other national and international trophies. Now he has decided that he wants to try elsewhere (and win what he has not won in white) and United is the most logical way out.