Varane Backs Himself and United For Better In 2022/23
Quite a few eyebrows were raised back in August 2021 when French international centre half, Raphael Varane, swapped the bright lights of Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid for the more rainy Manchester United set up.The now 29-year-old defender made the switch for a reported £34 million after his decade of success at the Santiago Bernabeu and in making the move, he did pass up the chance of lifting a fourth La Liga title and a fifth Champions League winners medal. Matters were probably made worse after the season the Red Devil's had, which again saw them change manager having only finished in sixth place in the English Premier League.
It was a poor year on a personal front for Varane as well, he only started 26 games across all competitions (three additional showings from the substitutes bench) as he battled against a combination of injury issues whilst making the adjustment to life in a new country and a new league.
Varane himself though is undeterred and he is insistent that he has no regrets about making the move to Manchester, and he is also no doubt backing himself to enjoy a much more successful season at the club in the coming 2022/23 domestic campaign under the fresh tutelage of newly installed gaffer Erik ten Hag and for those who like a flutter, if you are tempted into the world of Bitcoin betting given the anonymous, fast and simple, no transaction fee design, betting on United's final finish could prove to be very lucrative for you on a personal level given the excellent welcome bonuses offered by Cloudbet - not least a rise of 300% since both Liverpool and Real Madrid last faced each other in the 2018 Champions League Final and no KYC is required either. Cloudbet is also offering a 10k Euro prize to anyone betting on the top 5 leagues within the first 2 weeks of August.
With build up to the new season now well underway with pre season campaigns already in motion, Varane doubled down on the decision to make the transfer, telling the press this week that he had no regrets despite the experiences of his debut season.
"No, absolutely not. In football, you have to challenge yourself and try to improve. I wanted to live another experience after 10 years in the same place. The Premier League is absolutely fantastic and Manchester United are a great club. There was no doubt about my decision."
A great club they might be, and whilst there is every confidence Varane's form will show significant improvement next season with his injury troubles behind him, there is also no denying that United will have to make very significant progress this year to close what was a more than 30 point gap to both Manchester City and Liverpool.
"It's a new season. A new start. Confidence is important and we lost confidence when we lost some games. But I think we have great potential. The new manager is very positive. He wants this energy and to press high up the pitch, with more space behind our backs. That is maybe more offensive but it is football we really enjoy, so that is a good start."
With Ten Hag confirming that England international Harry Maguire would continue as captain, and ongoing speculation that he will bring in Argentine international Lisandro Martinez who played under him at Ajax, Varane welcomes the additional competition and does not seem to feel his place in the side is under threat.
"Competition is good for the team. Harry is a very important player for us. He's the captain and obviously he has a lot of good qualities. The team will always be better with this competition. Every great club is like this. If everyone wants to fight for the team, that's a good thing."
It will be interesting to see how quickly United hit the ground running under their new gaffer and what kind of challenge they can mount over the coming season.