‘I was surprised he stayed’ – Raphaël Varane on Erik Ten Hag contract extension at Manchester United | OneFootball

In an interview with The Athletic journalist Charlotte Harpur, former RC Lens, Real Madrid, and Manchester United defender Raphaël Varane (31) spoke about his time with the Red Devils, and particularly the club’s difficulties under Dutch manager Erik Ten Hag, who left Old Trafford earlier this season. Varane said he was surprised Erik ten Hag remained at Manchester United beyond the end of the 2023-24 season, adding “I was surprised he stayed. The connection with the group no longer existed.”“It’s hard to find the right words,” said the Frenchman, who recently retired from the game and is now a board member at Serie A club Como. “It was very tense at times. Sometimes he made an effort to listen to the players’ feedback. Sometimes he made decisions without listening to the players’ feelings. So there were ups and downs. It was complicated at times.”In the 2022-2023 season, Varane was a regular in Erik Ten Hag’s starting XI, but he fell out of favour with the Dutchman. “We had a robust discussion,” Varane said to The Athletic. “We told each other some truths but then I didn’t play for almost two months. I said I didn’t agree with certain ways of doing things regarding the relationship between him and the team. It wasn’t something that I thought was good for the team because some of the players were not at all satisfied. It was not good in terms of the relationship with the coach.”Varane retired from international football at the age of just 29 in February 2023. However, despite decreasing his workload, injuries remained frequent. The Frenchman left Manchester United upon the expiry of his contract last summer, joining newly promoted Serie A side Como on a free transfer. After joining Cesc Fabgregas’ side he suffered a severe knee injury which prompted the 2018 World Cup winner to retire. GFFN | George Boxall