The former international defender, world champion with the French team in 2018, joined the Italian club Como this summer, where he only played one match.
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It is a figure of French football who is hanging up his boots. French defender Raphaël Varane announced the end of his career on social media on Wednesday, September 25. “They say all good things must come to an end (…) It is with immense pride and a sense of accomplishment that I announce my retirement”the 31-year-old wrote in a lengthy message shared on Instagram.
Revealed at Lens, Raphaël Varane spent the majority of his career at Real Madrid (2011-2021), where he won three Ligas and four Champions Leagues. After his first selection for the French team in 2013, he wore the blue jersey 93 times. A strong man for Didier Deschamps, an undisputed starter in central defense during the Russian epic at the World Cup, he became the youngest captain in the history of Les Bleus in 2014, at the age of 21. He had announced his international retirement in February 2023, after the final lost in Qatar. Transferred to Como this summer, he played only one match, in the Italian Cup, in August. He nevertheless announced that he will stay at the club, “just without using my cleats and shin guards”.