Raphael Varane dicusses differences between Real Madrid & Man United

The defender had spent three seasons at Old Trafford.

Raphael Varane, who has featured for both Real Madrid and Manchester United, highlighted the contrast in playing for Real Madrid and Manchester United.

In an exclusive interview, the decorated centre-back also spoke about various issues but one of the main topics was about the differences he felt playing at Madrid and United. The former France international left Los Blancos in 2021 and joined the Premier League team.

After playing there for three years he left the club and joined Como before he finally announced his retirement. During his playing time at Old Trafford, the player won the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup.

However, Varane feels in terms of growth United are still behind compared to Madrid. Speaking to the Athletic he said:

“At Madrid, you can see that for years there has been a framework. A player is added, some leave, but there is always a solid foundation.

When you recruit young, talented players, they have to learn before they can play. It gives them time to develop. When I arrived, at the age of 18, I had no responsibilities in the dressing room. I was just there to learn. At United, they can recruit a very expensive young player and immediately play him, with all the responsibilities in an extremely difficult league. He’s got a huge weight on his shoulders straight away.”

Raphael Varane on #mufc: "It was a club that always made me dream. The stadium, the fans, what it represents." [@TheAthleticFC] pic.twitter.com/2ZLLhskWaK

— utdreport (@utdreport) February 19, 2025

Varane spent most of his playing career at Madrid. When Pepe left he became the first-choice defender for the Spanish capital team and established himself as one of the best young defenders in Europe. He was at the club when they were at the peak of Europe and won three Champions Leagues in a row.

Later he joined United, starting everything afresh as Erik ten Hag took charge of the team. Despite United playing impressive football under the Dutch manager in the first season, they couldn’t sustain it under him and continued to display poor performance by his third season, which led to his sacking.

The Red Devils’ problems have persisted ever since. They are at the bottom half of the table (15th). If they have a hard time winning the remaining matches they could certainly be fighting relegation.

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