Raphael Varane’s Real Madrid future is up in the air. One of the most decorated centre-backs in world football could soon be leaving the Bernabeu.
The UEFA Champions League and World Cup-winning defender only has 18 months left on his contract, which means it’s time for both him and Real Madrid to make a decision on their future.
Raphael Varane’s Real Madrid Future in Doubt
Raphael Varane’s Future
According to Marca, people within Real Madrid do not believe that Raphael Varane wants to renew his deal. So, if Madrid wants to recoup any of Varane’s world-class value, they will need to sell him in this upcoming summer. However, selling a world-class 28-year-old centre-back is not as simple as it sounds.
With 18-months left on his contract, Varane and, more importantly, his potential destination has all of the leverage. If Real Madrid wants to recoup the “€50 or 60 million” that Marca suggests, they need a rich suitor who isn’t willing to play hardball. A team with a lot of spare cash and a massive need at the position. That seems like something difficult to find in the middle of a pandemic.
Selling Varane is hardly Madrid’s only defensive issue this summer. They are also expected to part ways with 34-year-old centre-back Sergio Ramos. The club captain’s contract is up in June and it continues to look like they will be unable to find an agreement as we go further into the year.
Raphael Varane Needs Sergio Ramos
The departure of Ramos in itself will be an incredible loss for Real Madrid. Ramos has also been as integral to Varane’s success at club level as anyone. Ramos is the shot caller of their defence and that has shaped Varane’s style of play.
It’s such a simple setup. When defending, given the way Real Madrid play, Ramos presses up to an oncoming attack, and when they are forced to play around Ramos’s pressure, Varane is there to sweep things up on the back end. It’s the formula for how they won three straight Champions Leagues and two league titles. If Ramos’s pressure didn’t stop your attack then there was no way you were getting past Varane.
But in the past few seasons, Ramos has had a hard time staying on the field in important moments. There was the debacle at home against Ajax, the multiple Champions League losses to Shakhtar Donetsk and the massive Varane mistake against Manchester City that saw them knocked out of the Champions League last season.
If you’re Raphael Varane it would then make sense that if the club isn’t going to renew Ramos, then you should leave as well, especially if you continue to be caught out in the setup without the captain. How can you trust that the team will be built to you’re strengths if the club is letting go of the player you perform best next to?
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