At the age of just 31, former Real Madrid and Manchester United superstar Raphael Varane has decided to retire from the game.
The world of football was caught off guard as Raphael Varane announced his retirement from football on Wednesday. He picked up a long-term injury on his debut for Serie A outfit Como and on the back of it, he has decided to hang up his boots.
Varane will go down as one of the best defenders of his time and given the kind of titles he won during his career, some could even say that he will right up there with the very best to have played the game. Retiring at just 31 may seem premature, but it likely has much to do with his recurring injuries.
Varane’s struggle against time and injuries
Back in the day, it was quite normal for players to call in a day after they had crossed the 30 mark. However, in modern football, advancements in sports science; particularly in fitness, recovery, and injury prevention now allow players to extend their careers well into their mid-30s.
There are players who even tend to cross the 40 mark and as far as some of the best central defenders of modern times are concerned, they have played at the very top even after crossing the 35 mark.
The best possible example is that of Thiago Silva, who was at Chelsea until last season, and his former partner Sergio Ramos, who is looking for his next club at the age of 38. Unfortunately, Varane has not been able to stay fit. He has suffered quite a lot of injuries in recent years.
The former French international parted ways with Real Madrid in the summer of 2021. While he did have a few injury concerns during his time at the Spanish club, he hardly missed games during his final years at Los Blancos.
Following his big-money move to Manchester United, things started to crumble for the RC Lens academy graduate. In his debut season at Old Trafford, Varane missed a total of 16 matches because of different injuries.
In his second season, he missed a total of 14 games. These injuries started to have a massive impact on his performances and he was not able to reach the levels he was at during his time at Real Madrid.
In his final year at Manchester United, he missed 12 games because of injury. With Varane failing to reach the expected levels and struggling to stay fit, the Red Devils decided against extending his stay at the club. He left the club as a free agent following the expiry of his contract.
Varane’s retirement: The final nail in the coffin
While there was significant interest in his services from clubs in the Middle East and America, he wanted to continue in Europe and ended up joining Italian outfit Como.
He started his first game for the new club on 12th August 2024. But things did o’t go according to plan as he picked up a knee injury and was subbed off 23 minutes into the game. It was another major blow for the French international that would have kept him on the sidelines until the start of next year.
Just over a month after picking up yet another injury, Varane has officially decided to call it a day. He has retired from the game at just the age of 31. Despite being a super fit athlete he has done wonders during the peak years of his career, but the French centre-back has struggled to stay fit.
He has picked up a major knock every now and then and the knee injury in his debut for Como was probably the final nail in the coffin. Given the kind of work it needs for a footballer to return to the same level after a major injury, it is quite understandable why Varane no longer intends to continue playing. He has had quite a few injury blows in recent years and it has taken a toll on him.
Raphael Varane and a glorious career
Considering the immense success he enjoyed at Real Madrid and with the French national team, retiring at the relatively young age of 31 is far from an ideal way to bid farewell to the game. But, not many can say they have done what Varane did during his senior career.
He featured in a total of 360 matches for Los Blancos and played a massive part in all the success they had. He helped them clinch four Champions League titles and was one of the mainstays at the back during Madrid’s historic three-peat in the UCL (2016 to 2018).
Apart from the biggest competition in the club world, he won the La Liga thrice, the UEFA Super Cup thrice and lifted the Club World Cup on four occasions. While his time at Manchester United was not that great, he ended it by lifting the FA Cup at the iconic Wembley Stadium.
Varane lifted the UEFA Nations League title with the French national team and he played a key part in their FIFA World Cup winning campaign back in 2018. When he looks back at his trophy cabinet, the 31-year-old might not regret calling it a day as he seems to have won everything there is to win in the world of football.
