Real Madrid: 3 takeaways from Raphael Varane’s Euro 2020 campaign

2. He made a strong case for an extension

Raphael Varane’s contract with Real Madrid is set to expire in June 2022, per Transfermarkt. And, there have been updates on the two parties negotiating for a possible extension. The problem seems to be with the money. Raphael Varane has all the rights to be lured in by a heavy paycheck that the likes of Manchester United can afford.

The Royal Whites have however been under the omnipresent impact of the Pandemic and have been resorting to pay cuts as was the case with Luka Modric’s or Lucas Vazquez’s extensions. However, as I argued earlier, signing Varane to an extension would be of paramount importance to Los Blancos.

Varane’s performances including his masterclass against Germany should be enough to remind Florentino Perez of Varane’s importance to the side. Moreover, selling Varane to get anything in the ballpark of 50 million euros would be a bad card to play right now. If Varane leaves, that leaves the Merengues with only two first-team center-backs and that could be a deadly trail to follow.

Real Madrid’s memories of injuries must still be fresh from last season. With only two predominant center backs and David Alaba, who visibly was awful playing at center back for Austria at the Euros, Real Madrid will be running the risk quite high. They’d need a backup option better than someone like Victor Chust.

My colleague, Kevin Parvizi is of the view that Jules Kounde would be the ideal replacement. But he again is a 90 million euros investment, per La Razon. So, what makes more sense? Extending Varane or getting the most amount out of him for an attacker this summer which seems to be the club’s priority and if possible at all, a depth signing for the backline? In my opinion, it is certainly the former.