Manchester United centre-back Raphael Varane says he has started thinking about retiring from club football and could hang up his boots for any of the three teams.
Following France’s World Cup final loss to Argentina in Qatar, the 29-year-old made the surprising decision to retire from international football despite his relatively young age.
Varane said at the time that he felt he was “suffocating” from the volume of games he was being asked to play and criticized the “overloaded” schedule.
The Frenchman hopes his decision will extend his career at the club, although he has begun to think about hanging up his boots for good and has now opened the door to the possibility of a return to Lens, where he began his career, or to Real Madrid if he does. he decides to leave United.
In an interview with the French edition of GQ magazine, Varane was asked if he could finish his career at Old Trafford and he replied that it is ‘a serious option’.
Then he continued: ‘I will finish my career either in Madrid, or in Manchester, or in Lens. I will not move to another club (other than those).
But Madrid seems complicated to me. Players don’t usually go back there. The most likely outcome today is that I will end (my club career) at Manchester or Lens.”
On when he might hang up his boots, Varane added: “The closer you get to 30, the more you think about it.”
Reflecting on his much-improved second season at United and the reasons behind his international retirement, Varane continued: “This season is going well because I had a full pre-season! When was the last time that happened to me?
‘Recent seasons have always ended later and started earlier. We didn’t have time to work physically and when we didn’t play we only had time for recovery.
“You can do this for a few seasons, but after a while you crash, or you’re unrecognizable (for the player you were) for six months or a year on the field, or you get injured.”
“That’s what happens to all great players and that’s what I want to avoid.”
He added: “I fear that we are witnessing much shorter careers and that players will have to stop playing for the France team very soon because physically and mentally what we are asking for today is simply beyond our limits.”
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