Man Utd star ‘craves Ronaldo reunion’ after ‘dumbfounding’ Ten Hag tactical snub
Manchester United star Raphael Varane ‘craves’ a reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr having recently been snubbed by Erik ten Hag.
Varane was reportedly approached by Saudi Pro side Al Ittihad over the summer, but the Frenchman rejected their advances in favour of staying at Old Trafford.
But Football Transfers now claim that Varane has had a change of heart, and wants to leave United after their torrid start to the season.
Al-Nassr’s signing of Cristiano Ronaldo when his contract was torn up by United in 2021 sparked the Saudi football revolution which saw a host of top European stars move to the Middle East.
And Varane – who’s under contract at United until 2025 – now wants to reunite with Ronaldo, whom he played with at United after a hugely successful spell together at Real Madrid.
Al-Nassr, who were keen on Casemiro in the summer before being told by United that the mdifielder was not for sale, have now made contact with Varane, who was presumably among the United players left ‘dumbfounded’ by Ten Hag’s “tactical decision” in the Manchester derby.
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Varane was left out of the starting lineup against Manchester City in favour of veteran Jonny Evans, with players also baffled by Victor Lindelof starting at left-back in favour of Sergio Reguilon.
The 30-year-old would be teaming up with former Premier League stars Sadio Mane, Alex Telles and Aymeric Laporte, along with Ronaldo, if he made the move to Al-Nassr.
Ten Hag may be hoping to change Varane’s mind in the one-to-one talks he’s reportedly holding with all members of his United squad this week, as he looks to fix the broken dressing room.
The decision to take Casemiro off at half-time in the win over Brentford, which Ten Hag said was a tactical choice made in a bid to “play more football” is among the calls said to have been questioned by the squad.
The Dutch manager’s job isn’t thought to be under immediate threat, and the club has called reports that they’re looking at alternative managers to replace him “categorically false”, but the pressure will rise significantly without a positive result against Fulham on Saturday.
