It was only in the summer that Raphael Varane moved to Como. After just one competitive appearance, his career ended in September due to a knee injury. Now the 2018 World Cup winner has spoken about his career – but also about his future plans.
Raphael Varane won every club football title with Real Madrid and became world champion with France in 2018. In recent years, however, and especially after his move to Manchester United, things have been quieter around the former world-class center back, who has repeatedly been held back by his body. Nevertheless, he decided to take on a new challenge in the summer – and signed for Serie A promoted team Como.
However, the 31-year-old only made one appearance for Cesc Fabregas’s team, being substituted after just 23 minutes of the Coppa Italia tie against Sampdoria Genoa in mid-August. “When I got injured, I knew it was all over,” Varane told Marca, looking back around two months later. For years, the Frenchman had been struggling with problems with that very knee, but the problem had its origin in an injury to his right knee: “In the last three years, I was only injured in my left knee. My right knee had gotten stronger but not as mobile. My left knee did everything because of that.”
Many titles with Real – but the most important one was with the national team
And so it followed that his career ended early at the age of 31. He had joined Real Madrid at the age of 18 and quickly established himself in the team, despite formidable competition from the likes of Sergio Ramos and Pepe in the center of defense: “For me, everything happened a bit faster than for the others,” said Varane, who also highlighted the work with young top talents at the club: “I was lucky enough to come to a club that gives young players time to learn – at a very high level. What they have done over the years with me, Valverde, Vinicius and Rodrygo is extraordinary. The big clubs should copy Real Madrid”.
At the Whites, Varane formed a strong central defensive partnership with Sergio Ramos for years, but due to his elegant style of play, he had to work hard to gain respect, especially in France: “When I got there, I kept my mouth shut and learned to do everything necessary to perform,” he said, looking back on his beginnings as an international. Despite a difficult start and whistles at his first international game, he celebrated the most important success of his career with the Equipe Tricolore – the 2018 World Cup title: “Winning for your country is incomparable,” enthuses Varane.
After his second World Cup final at the Winter World Cup in Qatar, in which France lost to Argentina, he then ended his career in the national team – also for family reasons. He will have more time for his family and his three children in the future, even though he will remain with his last club Como: “I will join the development committee of Como. I still have something to give to football, the activity allows me to see it differently.”
In his new role, Varane would like to continue to influence football, which he believes has become far too ‘robotic’: ‘There is much less creativity, less genius on the field.’ As a result, the game has lost some of its freedom, but: ‘Football is a game of mistakes – and should remain so.’