‘Varane is unproven’ - Twitter reacts to €50m Man Utd transfer

FT Desk

Updated: 27 Jul 2021 21:41 BST
6 min read

Raphael Varane, France, Euro 2020 — © ProShots

The football world has begun to react to the news that Raphael Varane is on his way to join Manchester United.

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Both Man Utd and Real Madrid confirmed on Tuesday that the World Cup winner is set to move to Old Trafford.

Varane will move for a fee in the region of €50 million as Man Utd take their second big scalp of the transfer window following the signing of Jadon Sancho for €85m from Borussia Dortmund.

So how did Twitter react?

Well, Marcus Rashford was clearly delighted with his club’s imminent signing, tweeting: "Can we please stop spamming my posts now, oui oui.”

Can we please stop spamming my posts now, oui oui 🤣 https://t.co/qz8XNxGTjx
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) July 27, 2021

Rashford has commented in the past that he regards Varane as one of the best stoppers he has ever faced, saying earlier this year: “There are some top individual defenders – [Virgil] van Dijk, Ramos. I thought, when we played against Real Madrid in a friendly, that Varane played and he was quite tough.”

Manchester United played it with a straight bat in announcing Varane’s imminent signing.

𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗿, 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘀 👋

We have agreed a deal in principle for the transfer of @RaphaelVarane to United! 🔴⚪️⚫️#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 27, 2021

Real Madrid, meanwhile, had nothing but thanks for everything Varane has done for the club during his 10 years at the Santiago Bernabeu.

They tweeted an image of all the trophies he has won in the Spanish capital.

Gracias, @raphaelvarane.
💫 4x @ChampionsLeague
🌍 4x Club World Cup
🔝 3x UEFA Super Cup
🏆 3x @LaLigaEN
👑 1x Copa del Rey
🇪🇸 3x Spanish Super Cup#HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/BgQu8WjTTl
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) July 27, 2021

BT Sport, who will be broadcasting Varane’s matches in England when he plays in the Champions League for Manchester United, tweeted together with a video compilation: “Raphaël Varane is a player with immense pedigree! The 28-year-old France international is coming to Old Trafford.”

Raphaël Varane is a player with immense pedigree! 💪

The 28-year-old France international is coming 🔜 to Old Trafford 🔴⚫️ pic.twitter.com/kRo69zRtMe
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) July 27, 2021

Samuel Luckhurst, the Chief Manchester United Writer for the Manchester Evening News, tweeted that this transfer represents a culture change at a club that now is intent on moving to the next level.

Mindset has well and truly changed at #mufc. They finished second (and FA Cup runners-up) in 2018 but refused to sign a centre-back and a right winger for Mourinho. Finished second in 2021 and have signed a centre-back and a right winger for Solskjaer.
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) July 27, 2021

Not everyone was overly excited at the prospect of Varane moving to the Premier League. Danny Mills, who clearly has seen very little of the Frenchman over the last 10 years, commented that he was still relatively unproven as he has never played in the EPL.

“A lot of the games in La Liga are against inferior opposition. This is not the standard of the Premier League. I’m not saying he’s had it easy, but you don’t have to do that much defending in La Liga games,” Mills said.

❌ “A lot of the games in La Liga are against inferior opposition. This is not the standard of the Premier League.”

👀 “I’m not saying he’s had it easy, but you don’t have to do that much defending in La Liga games.”

Danny Mills questions if Varane can cope with #PL robustness pic.twitter.com/SboJBpcQW0
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) July 27, 2021