Manchester United rope in Raphael Varane from Real Madrid

Manchester United have signed France’s centre back Raphael Varane for a four-year contract at a reported fee of $56 million. The 28-year-old will be traded from Real Madrid, where he helped the club win 18 trophies, including four Champions League titles in 10 seasons. Raphael was also part of the France team that won the World Cup in 2018. He joined Real Madrid in 2011 from French club Lens.

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"Manchester United is delighted to announce the signing of Raphael Varane, keeping him at the club until June 2025," United said in a statement.

Varane was unveiled to the crowd at Old Trafford ahead of United’s opening game of the Premier League season against Leeds and the France stalwart was seen taking selfies infront of the full capacity crowd. Earlier, Manchester United had also signed Jadon Sancho with the club paying Borussia Dortmund a fee of 85 million euros ($100 million).

“Manchester United is one of the most iconic clubs in world football and the chance to come here and play in the Premier League is something I couldn’t turn down,” Varane said in a statement. “There is a lot more that I want to achieve in my career and I know I’m joining a squad full of great players who will all have the same determination to win matches and trophies. Having spoken to the manager I can see how much progress has been made over the last few seasons and I now join a group ready to play at the highest level.”

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The last Premier League title win for United came in 2012-13 and since then they had only seen their rivals Manchester City lift the trophy four times, including the last season. United couldn’t win a single silverware in the last season after losing the Europa League final to Villarreal on penalties. It’s the longest drought for United since the 1980s.