Raphael Varane has revealed his “idiosyncratic” relationship with Erik ten Hag, who formerly served as the manager of Manchester United, in a new interview that offers a comprehensive account of the situation.
Varane, who moved to Manchester United from Real Madrid in 2021, was coached by four different coaches during his three-year stint at Old Trafford. These coaches were Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, Ralf Rangnick, and Erik ten Hag.
Due to the fact that he had only made 29 appearances across all competitions during the 2021/22 season, the defender was understandably “excited” about the arrival of Ten Hag because he was looking forward to a fresh start.
“It’s a new season, it’s a new start, so everyone is excited to know about the new manager,” he said to MUTV in the days leading up to the club’s pre-season campaign in the year 2022. “We want to be ready for the new season.”
While Varane was Ten Hag’s first-choice centre-back throughout the entirety of the 2022–2023 season, the Dutch manager decided to remove the four-time Champions League champion from his roster at the beginning of the following season, despite the fact that he was in full physical condition.
Furthermore, between the months of October and the middle of December, the 31-year-old player did not start a single game for Manchester United.
Ten Hag insisted that he had no issue with the World Cup winner and stated that his absence was due to “tactical reasons” at the time. However, now, in an intriguing interview with The Athletic, the defender has provided his perspective on being dropped from the team.
We had a lively conversation about it. The two of us shared some truths with one another, but after that, I went almost two months without playing,” he said.
Within the context of the relationship that exists between him and the team, I expressed my disagreement with certain approaches to doing things. Due to the fact that a few of the players were not at all content with it, I did not believe that it was something that would be beneficial for the team.
From the standpoint of the relationship with the coach, it was not a good thing. He responded by saying, “OK, I hear what you said,” and after that, I decided not to play on.
In addition, he continued his discussion of his relationship with Ten Hag by saying, “There were times when it was very tense.” At other times, he made an effort to pay attention to the comments made by the players. There were times when he made decisions without taking into account the emotions of the players. So there were ups and downs. It was complicated at times.”
The Frenchman would go on to speak about Ten Hag’s system and his play style that divided fans.
“It was the opposite [to Real Madrid] with fairly rigid patterns of play defined in advance,” he said. “There was very little flexibility in terms of adapting on the pitch. The game plans were very, very precise, with lots and lots of information. It was different.”
Varane, who left United at the end of his contract last summer after making 92 appearances for the club, says that he was surprised that Ten Hag remained at United beyond the end of the 2023-24 season. Varane left United at the point where his contract expired.
During the interview, he expressed his surprise at the fact that he remained. It was no longer possible to maintain a connection with the group.
