Thierry Henry has suggested that Real Madrid chose to cut ties with Raphael Varane in 2021 because of injury concerns.
The World Cup winner swapped Madrid for Manchester when he made the surprise switch to the Red Devils under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, signing on a £41 million deal from the 14-time European champions.
He has since been a pivotal figure at the heart of Manchester United’s defence and, when fit, has played an integral role under each manager – Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag.
However, the only downside to Varane’s United tenure thus far has been his availability, with the Frenchman frequently being omitted from games here and there due to an injury complaint.
Varane, 30, has missed seven matches in all competitions so far this term through either injury or illness, as well as 17 games last season. In 2021/2022 – his maiden campaign as a Red – he was absent for 18 fixtures.
Again, it can’t be underestimated the impact he has had on the squad and the backline since his arrival. There’s no doubting he’s a world-class centre-half, and that’s exactly why the United faithful want to see his name on the teamsheet week in, week out.
Henry explains intelligent Madrid transfer approach
Speaking on CBS Sports, Henry revealed Los Blancos’ way of keeping their squad fresh and youthful.
“There’s one thing you have to give them [Real Madrid] a lot of credit for, the ability they have to make sure they build a team with keeping some of the old guard with them to make sure that they can explain to the guys coming, the young guys coming,” the Arsenal legend began.
“If you look at it, if [Kylian] Mbappe goes there, they’re going to have a team that can be dominating Europe and dominating their league for maybe six to seven years because they’ll all be young, Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, if Mbappe goes there, Rodrygo, [Federico] Valverde, [Aurelien] Tchouameni.”
“The one thing they do ever so well is they know when to get rid of players. I am not talking about the players that are logical to get rid of. I am talking about it was time for [Cristiano] Ronaldo. It was time for Casemiro. It was time for [Mesut] Ozil. It was time for Varane, which was more, I think, of a knee issue, if I understand well.”
He added: “But if you think about those three – [Luka] Modric, [Toni] Kroos and Casemiro – they sold the youngest one. Why would you sell the youngest one? Well, they notified that those two can help the Valverde, the Tchouameni, [Eduardo] Camavinga and they do that ever-so-well and you have to give them credit because when you get rid of the players that I mentioned before, they were outstanding players at that time for your team.”
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