Real Madrid: Varane is showing class by not ‘forcing’ move to Man United

It’s obviously sad to let go of a player that has given so much to his club. It holds a lot more value when it’s at a club like Real Madrid. Raphael Varane’s move to Manchester United will happen sooner rather than later. It’s inevitable. It’s the worst news imaginable for a Real Madrid fan — weeks after losing Sergio Ramos to PSG.

But there’s something to smile about, in a way, about this Varane transfer saga. It doesn’t bring the team any replacement, it brings them some money which will probably go into purchasing a certain French attacker, but there’s something else. Let’s get to that.

Raphael Varane is being respectful, and Real Madrid should acknowledge that

When a ‘big’ player wants a move, he has a couple of options available to him; options for how he wants to proceed with things.

There are many players that take the ‘respectful’ route. They tell the club what they want, show up to training, and keep things respectful. They’d obviously be disappointed if things don’t go the way they want, but they keep going. One player on this Real Madrid team that this might remind you of is Eden Hazard.

Hazard — although has been an overall failure so far — kept things really, really respectful between him and Chelsea. He had wanted this move for a long time, and it showed since he kept flirting with Real Madrid subtly during interviews. But, he always said something along the lines of “I have a contract with Chelsea, and I won’t go if they don’t want me to”. Players like him earn the respect of their former clubs, and leaving on a good note makes fans love them even more.

Then you have other players; ones that want the move no matter what. They would go against the club’s requests, players that would even sacrifice their professionalism sometimes, by not showing up to training, sometimes even going AWOL until the club has no choice but to sell him. Our very own Thibaut Courtois did something similar when he was at Chelsea. Now, look, I love Thibaut, but I would probably be mad at him if I were a Chelsea fan.

All of this is why I think Varane is handling this in the best possible way. He doesn’t want to continue at Real Madrid, and is in search of a new challenge. He’s doing just that, but in the most respectful way. He hasn’t said anything bad about the club, he hasn’t gone AWOL, he’s still showing up to training, and is waiting on the two clubs to reach an agreement, which makes this tough situation a little better.

Varane could’ve chosen to stay at home or at vacation until the move was complete, but he didn’t do that. He respected the rules and the commitments he has made to the club, and showed up on time. That’s how it should be done in my opinion, and apparently, that’s what Mbappe is trying to do at PSG as well.

Time will tell how that story pans out, but as of now, from what we can see, Varane is handling it in the best possible way, and that’s commendable.