Just because Raphael Varane has hung up his boots, that does not mean the Manchester United icon is done with football at the very highest level.
Every ending can also be a beginning, after all.
And, with so much left to give to the game at the age of just 31, the World Cup and multi-Champions League winning defender has little interest in swapping the game’s most iconic pitches for the bingo hall.
Raphael Varane was forced into an early if not entirely unexpected retirement in September, just four months after keeping Erling Haaland quiet as Manchester United secured the FA Cup at Wembley.
Varane joined Serie A newcomers Como after being charmed by the challenge and the lifestyle on offer in one of Europe’s most picturesque locations. His Como career, however, would last just a few weeks and a mere 23 minutes of football.
But rather than pine for a career lost, the ever-ambitious Varane is excited to see what the future holds away from the grass.
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
Manchester United hero Raphael Varane announces retirement plans
Speaking to L’Equipe as he opened up on his future for the first time, the former Real Madrid powerhouse explains that he sees himself more in the boardroom rather than the dugout.
There are no immediate plans for Varane to go into management.
He does, however, like the idea of taking the reigns at the very top of a club and leading by example. Much like he did throughout a trophy-filled playing career.
“[I see myself] more as a president than as a coach, for the moment,” Varane explains, before adding that he is likely to stay at Como in a behind-the-scenes role.
“[My immediate future] will be Como, because I am part of the club’s development committee. I still have something to bring to football and it allows me to see another side. I am also very interested in business.
“I have created three foundations and I also like to advise, to help players find a balance around football.”
Varane explains the pain he went through at Man United
Como director Carlalberto Ludi confirmed already that Varane will stay in Italy. Even without boots on his feet, one of the finest centre-halves of the modern era will help make Gli Azzurri a club ‘talked about around the world’.
And while most would be embittered by being forced into an early retirement, Varane is taking a glass-half full perspective. Given that he has suffered from knee issues since right at the start of his career, he is just happy that he got to achieve as much as he did before the inevitable arrived.
“Since the age of 20, I’ve played with a sword of Damocles hanging over my right knee,” Varane adds, the knife finally falling less than half an hour into his Como debut.
“Managing pressure, knowing my body, knowing when to push the machine, I’ve mastered it perfectly. But over the last three years, I’ve only injured my left knee.
“My right knee had become strong, but less mobile, and my left knee did everything, for power, starts, and impulses. Physically, this injury made me go back into a spiral, and the balance between sacrifices and pleasure was no longer balanced.”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
