Raphael Varane has made it clear that he wants to remain at Real Madrid, adding that he has fresh hopes of keeping a clean slate when the 2016/2017 season starts.
The France international footballer is one of those stars whose careers have been badly affected by recurring injuries but the center back made it clear, as Marca reported:
“Yes, I want to stay here this year. I think everything is here for me to continue my progression.
“I feel loved by the club and by the fans who have always treated me almost like a youth product.
“The best players are here, everything is here for me to keep improving and I’m really enthusiastic about improving. The best is still ahead of me.”
Rumors had it that the player was about making a switch to Old Trafford but the deal failed when Mourinho signed Eric Bailly from Ivory Coast; the Ivorian plays in the same position as Varane.
Raphael, 23, made his professional debut for Ligue 1 club side Lens on 7 November 2010 in a league match against Montpellier. His performance in the match was followed by Lens youth coach Eric Assadourian describing the player as a “truly first class player” who is “comfortable on both the tactical and technical level”.
In January 2014, the Real Madrid player was named by The Guardian as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe.
However, Raphael has been on the other side of luck, having suffered strings on injuries on his way to the peak of his career. In Madrid’s 2015-16 season campaign, the center back was disappointingly ruled out of the finals by injuries though veteran defenders–Sergio Ramos and Pepe–had refused to let go of their first team spots for the youngster.
Image: Raphael Varane
Full of hopes and undaunted by twists of fate, the 23-year-old said:
“In life you take decisions, I spoke with the club, I spoke with Zizou and I trust that I’m going to keep improving here and the best of me is still to come.
“In life you take decisions and I’ve chosen to stay here because I want to be here and I want to be in Madrid.”
The talented young footballer missed Madrid’s Champions League final in May, and Euro 2016 due to injuries.
“I hope I’m allowed to start [the new season] with a clean slate. I want to go forward and keep improving,” he told Marca from Canada where the team is having a pre-season tour.
“I have fresh motivation after five years at Madrid and hope to make new ground.
“Ending last season without playing in the Champions League or Euro finals was hard for me, but I intend to leave these adversities behind.
“I want to move forward and I think that I can keep improving. I love being at a club like Real Madrid, I want to stay here and for a long time.”
“[Paul Pogba] is my friend, but I last spoke to him a while ago, not recently. I don’t know what he’s thinking.
“Sure, he’s a terrific player, but I don’t know what he wants or will do and I think we already have a good team.
“The club will decide what they want to do and I have nothing to say about that.”
