Raphaël Varane is ‘painfully experiencing’ his current situation at Manchester United, according to L’Equipe.
The centre-back has been restricted to five league starts this season, out of which three of them came in August.
Since the start of October, Erik ten Hag has handed the Manchester United star only 108 minutes in the league. The report says he experiences his ‘downgrade’ at Old Trafford with ‘frustration’.
The Frenchman continues to train well and also advise youngsters [mainly 19-year-old Willy Kambwala].
However, L’Equipe explain that it’s ‘impossible to imagine’ him accepting a backup role in the long run. The 30-year-old doesn’t hide this in private and is clear the situation ‘cannot be prolonged’ more than a season.
Four days ago, AS reported Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti would welcome Varane back to the club. The La Liga side have been forced to look for a new defender after David Alaba suffered a serious injury.
L’Equipe claim there has been no direct contact between the Manchester United player’s camp and Los Blancos over a potential deal in January. He’s not in favour of changing clubs in the middle of the season.
At the same time, if Varane’s presented an opportunity to return to Real Madrid, L’Equipe say he may think about it. The player still has a house in Madrid and has maintained close ties with some of his former teammates.
Meanwhile, Varane’s entourage have dismissed the possibility of a move to Saudi Arabia or Qatar.
“It’s not a subject,” L’Equipe cited his entourage as saying.
Varane starred in Manchester United’s draw against Liverpool and missed the defeat to West Ham United due to illness. If he’s fit, it needs to be seen whether Ten Hag will start him against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
