Raphaël Varane has said he was “surprised” by the Manchester United’s hierachy’s decision to offer Erik ten Hag a new contract last summer as his bond with the squad was deeply fractured by that point.
The former France international’s time at Old Trafford overlapped with Ten Hag’s two full seasons at the club, where he won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
The latter, which came in a dire 2023-24 season that saw United finish 8th in the Premier League, rescued Ten Hag’s job and saw him offered a one-year extension on his deal. But just four months on, the Dutchman was fired after a dismal start to the season that saw United win four of their first 13 games.
“I was surprised he stayed,” Varane said in an interview with The Athletic. “The connection with the group no longer existed.”
Varane spoke of sharing a complicated relationship with Ten Hag. He was first-choice centre-back in the Dutchman’s first season at the club but found himself relegated to a bench role for a large chunk of the following campaign. The World Cup winner said he wasn’t provided with any reason for his dropping.
“We had a robust discussion. 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,” he said.
“It wasn’t something that I thought was good for the team because some of the players weren’t at all satisfied. It was not good in terms of the relationship with the coach.
“He said ‘OK, I hear what you said’ and after that I didn’t play.”
Ten Hag also had tense relationships with Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho, and Varane said he believes conflict was a tenet of his management style.
The ex-Real Madrid defender fought off competition and injuries towards the end of the 2023-24 season, and played a key role in the win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final. He was keen to take up the option in his contract to remain at United for another year but after conversations with the club, realised they weren’t on the same page.
“I didn’t know who the coach would be. I didn’t know if they wanted to change the squad a lot or not. I had no visibility, so it’s difficult to commit when you don’t know exactly what you’re committing to,” he said.
“At Madrid, they have a defined way of doing things at every level of the club. At Manchester [United], it was not clear or defined enough to know how to recruit, how to play, how to communicate. There weren’t the same procedures, processes, structure,” he added.
Varane joined Serie A side Como on a free transfer but in the aftermath of a knee injury 20 minutes into his debut, he announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 31.
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