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Manchester United legend and prominent broadcaster Rio Ferdinand believes Raphael Varane may have been taken aback by the culture at Old Trafford.
Varana joined the Red Devils from Real Madrid on a transfer worth around £41 million (as per GOAL) last summer. However, injuries limited his playing time, and the 29-year-old made just 29 appearances across all competitions during the 2021-22 season.
Regardless, Varane was part of a United side that recorded their worst ever Premier League points tally. They also failed to make deep runs in the FA Cup (fourth round), EFL Cup (third round) and UEFA Champions League (Round of 16).
Many criticised the Frenchman for underperforming in his first season at Old Trafford. However, Ferdinand, who won 14 titles with Manchester United, seemed to indicate that the shift in environments may have played a part in Varane's struggles.
He said on his "FIVE" podcast on YouTube (as quoted by Stretty News):
“He went from one team – the honours there tell you it was a functioning team at the top level, all players playing to their maximum consistently – and went into an absolute reverse situation where the team has zero functionality, no confidence, no guidance and no structure of where they’re going.”
Ferdinand went on to add:
“He went into an alien scenario where he’s going ‘I have not seen this since youth team football’. To go from that world-class operating and culture and standard on a daily basis to what is at Manchester United is a huge, huge shift.”
The Englishman, who won 81 caps for his national side, believes, however, that Varane will be aware that he didn't reach the levels expected of him. He concluded:
“He’s probably sitting there like a rabbit in the headlights thinking ‘wow, what is this?’ He hasn’t been the player we expected… he would tell you that, he couldn’t tell you anything else. He’ll be saying ‘I’ve got to up the levels next year. I need help’.”
Raphael Varane enjoyed a stellar career with Real Madrid prior to joining Manchester United
Before joining Manchester United last summer, Varane spent 10 years at Real Madrid, having joined them from FC Lens in 2011.
In that time, the Frenchman racked up 360 appearances for Los Blancos and was one half of a formidable centre-back pairing alongside Sergio Ramos. Varane also picked up 18 titles during his stint at the Santiago Bernabeu, including four Champions League crowns and three La Liga titles.
The central defender has also lifted the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Nations League with Les Bleus.
He will now hope to return to the best of his abilities under new Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag in the 2022-23 season.
