Raphaël Varane | Como board member



And those words are very apt and I am sure he will appreciate them.

He was not only an elegant player, but he was a battler as well.
It is a great shame he has sustained this bad knee injury.

My very best wishes for your future.
 
I remember when most of the players at clubs and World Cups were close to 30 years old. Times have really changed. It's sad that the amount of football these guys play these days makes them think about retiring at 30.
 
His last game for us was a fantastic performance in the FA cup final. Was also very good in EtH's first season. Such a shame injuries blighted his time here.
 
He couldn't stay fit for a prolonged period during those 3 years, so I get where the poster is coming from. Real knew what they were doing when they let him go.

Yeah thats fair - though he was weirdly quite fit for a lot of last season, "only" missed 10 games through injury (not withstanding games where he was rested due to the fact he couldn't play all the time).
 
Thinking about it, he was one of very few players in the post-Fergie era I like as much as the players from the time when we had character and personality.

Proper class act.
 
Loved watching him. Great player. Hopefully he can enjoy retirement and enjoy the next adventure in his life.
 
Tosay my hands shook when i heard the news and now I'm crying myself to sleep. It's sad so sad it's a sad sad situation. Good luck prince one day we will see you as a coaching stuff at New Trafford
 
Sad news but I wish him good luck. Was always a fan of him as a player and I'm glad I got to see him at United even if it was 10 years too late.
 
Sad for him. I didnt want him to leave at the end of last season (how wrong I was about that). Still think he was our best defender and a legend.

It speaks volumes that he would rather retire then see how out his contract compared to other players who would do the opposite.

I strongly recommend people watch that Amazon documentary about him. You learn so much about his mentality and thirst for winning. He will always be Champions League Varane to me!
 
Retired before even playing a game for his new club. Best of luck Varane. Wouldn’t surprise me if he took up coaching alongside fabregas at como.
 
When he did play he was always top class but the club did make the right decision not to renew. I am glad that he went out with the FA Cup win as it turned out to be his last full match of pro footy. I wish him well.
 
I remember when most of the players at clubs and World Cups were close to 30 years old. Times have really changed. It's sad that the amount of football these guys play these days makes them think about retiring at 30.
Is that the case though? For some reason, I had the impression that players were playing at a high level more and more into their late 30's (of course I could be totally wrong and just unduly swayed by the likes of CR7, Messi, Lewandowski, Modric, and Benzema.)
 
So ye he didn’t play a league game.

It's so sobering that he lasted ONE game beyond his United days.

The Old United regime and probably loads of the fan base would probably have signed him on for another couple of years a 350k a week.
 
I think we were pretty lucky to have for him 3 years to be honest. Fairly bad years for the club I guess but his talent was clear to see all the same. Guys like him and Ibrahimovic would have been great to have in a strong team. I dont think they're players to turn a decent team into a strong team though. They just cant get on and stay on the pitch consistently enough to really change the level of a team.
 
The player he was at his best has become underrated since the VvD hype began to dominate the CB discussions
 
that’s literally how everyone retires.

He only turned 31 this summer and was comfortably still playing top level football

Injuries have cost him 2-3 years of football without a doubt
 
Elite player, terrific mentality and a class defender.

Wish him all the best.
 
He only turned 31 this summer and was comfortably still playing top level football

Injuries have cost him 2-3 years of football without a doubt
Yeah but it doesn't really rank that highly in the list of football's most heart-breaking career endings when a bloke in his thirties with 4 Champions League titles and a World Cup has to cancel his contract with Como and call it a day.
 
We never saw the best of him
It's weird, but I am pleased for him that he initially chose Madrid over us.

He won so much at RM and it's obvious he would never have had the same success at United no matter how good peak Varane was.

Coming to United eventually was a career swansong for him and he got to go out on a high, at Wembley, with another trophy and having put in a typically classy Varane-like performance.

He's always been a class act and I think it's the right decision because he's got nothing left to prove.
 
It's weird, but I am pleased for him that he initially chose Madrid over us.

He won so much and would never have had the same success at United. He would have improved us, definitely, but nowhere near enough to seriously challenge for top honours.

Coming to United eventually was a career swansong for him and he got to go out on a high, at Wembley, with another trophy and having put in a typical Varane-like performance.

Great career, a thoroughly decent human being, and hats off to him.
Assuming he's not like your cousin or something that is really rather weird yeah.
 
Sad to see him retire. I have no doubt he could come back and keep playing for another few years if he really wanted to, but playing for the sake of it probably doesn’t appeal at this point. The money and honours he has accumulated already, I can see it not being worth the further punishment of rehab etc. He seems ready to move on to the next phase of his career. Good luck to him. What a wonderful player he was and what a brilliant career he’s had.
 
Yeah but it doesn't really rank that highly in the list of football's most heart-breaking career endings when a bloke in his thirties with 4 Champions League titles and a World Cup has to cancel his contract with Como and call it a day.

Never said it was but it’s a shame regardless

Not sure what the argument is here