Mercato: Real Madrid and Manchester United very close to an agreement for the transfer of Varane

Raphaël Varane is not yet officially a Manchester United player, but it shouldn't be long.

According to someone close to the English board, "the discussions are progressing quickly" and we are rapidly approaching an agreement between the two clubs.

According to our information, this is likely to take place by the end of the week on the basis of a transfer of around € 45 million.

Initially, Real Madrid claimed nearly 80 before adjusting their claims to the current state of a market seriously impacted by the pandemic.

In the process, the 28-year-old world champion defender will tie his future for 4 or 5 seasons with Manchester.

The two parties are already in agreement on the main lines of the contract.

Arrived in Madrid in 2011, where he won no less than 17 titles including 4 Champions Leagues, the French world champion was at the end of his contract in June 2022. Real had transmitted to him, before the start of Euro 2021, an offer of extension qualified as very correct.

But Varane thought the time had come to give a new direction to his career and to discover another environment.

The choice of Manchester thus responds to a life project and above all to a sporting challenge commensurate with this competitor.

He resumed training in Madrid this Friday

He never intended, however, to force Real Madrid's hand, an institution for which he has the greatest respect. He is only waiting for the two clubs to find common ground and has, moreover, made his return to training this Saturday, July 24 at the center of Valdebebasa. He even spoke with Carlo Ancelotti, Zinédine Zidane's successor on the Merengue bench.

MU's interest in him is not new. At the very beginning of his career, then two years ago, the international with 79 selections had already been the subject of more or less concrete approaches. After a family vacation at the end of the Euro, Varane went here almost a week to Cambrai (North) to meet children who participate in courses bearing his name. In September 2020, he signed a representation contract with the English agency CAA Base to facilitate his arrival on the British market.

After having already invested 85 million euros (excluding bonus) on Dortmund striker Jadon Sancho, Manchester United will achieve their second big blow in the summer transfer window.

Between these two operations, the Red Devils even extended their Norwegian coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The 48-year-old technician finished second in the Premier League and reached the Europa League final (1-1, 11-10 tab loss to Villarreal).

For its part, the Spanish club is therefore preparing to lose, after Sergio Ramos, gone to PSG, all of its central hinge of the last decade.