Raphael Varane vs Lionel Messi: What happened every time Messi faced Man Utd target | OneFootball

Manchester United finished second to Manchester City in the Premier League last season and it seems Ole Gunnar Solskajer is going to do everything in his power to go one better this time around.

Confirmation of their deal to sign Jadon Sancho is imminent but the English winger won’t be the only one through the door in the coming weeks, it seems.

The club are closing in on a deal for Real Madrid defender, Raphael Varane.

After 10 years at the Bernabeu and with one year left on his contract, the Frenchman is considering his options.

The Sun claim that the deal to United is in its ‘final stages’ and a deal will be announced this week.

But what will United be getting? Is the 29-year-old good enough to form a partnership with Harry Maguire?

Well, talkSPORT pundit Danny Mills questioned the signing earlier on Monday morning.

"So, yes he's a good signing. But was it the right signing?” Mills asked.

"You know, Varane is a good player, but again we don't know what he's gonna be like, how robust he's gonna be in the Premier League week in, week out.

"He's (Varane's) used to playing eight-ish tough games a season apart from the Champions League.

"Him and Ramos can get through games at the back for Real Madrid with a cigar on. You can't do that in the Premier League.”

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How many times has Raphael Varane won the Champions League during his time at Real Madrid?

4 2 5 7

Of course, playing in La Liga means facing arguably the greatest football of all time - Lionel Messi.

And a four-minute video has been posted on YouTube showing overtime Varane faced Messi throughout his career.

The conclusion? Varane did relatively well. Sure, there are times when Messi skipped past him but the centre-back’s pace often saw him dispossess the Argentine.

Take a look:

Last year, Varane actually spoke about how best to deal with the Barcelona legend.

"You can't defend like you do with others and it takes teamwork. You can't leave him room," the defender told La Liga when asked about Messi."Being a defender of Real Madrid means being able to make very few mistakes. We have 50 meters of field behind us."