Man Utd ace Raphael Varane ‘offered shock Ligue 1 transfer as Real Madrid pull out of race for former star’

RAPHAEL VARANE has been offered a shock escape route from Manchester United by his former club.

We reported previously how the star had been made available for transfer amid interest from Saudi Arabia after the World Cup winner slipped down the pecking order at Old Trafford this term.

AlamyRaphael Varane has been offered a shock escape route from Man Utd[/caption]

Erik ten Hag has preferred the likes of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and even veteran Jonny Evans, which has limited Varane to just 521 minutes of Premier League action.

Real Madrid were believed to be lining up a swoop to bring him back to the Bernabeu.

The French defender, 30, spent ten years there from 2011 to 2021 and won 18 trophies – including four Champions Leagues – before joining United for £34m on a four-year deal.

Bayern Munich have also been linked with a move for Varane.

However, El Chiringuito TV have now claimed that Real Madrid have zero interest in signing their ex-defender.

But another one of his former club’s have allegedly emerged as contenders to try and snap him up.

French publication L’Equipe have stated that Ligue 1 team Lens are also in the running for Varane.

He began his career with them, where his displays first caught the eye of Madrid.

After finding himself on the bench over recent weeks, Varane has started two of United’s last three games.

And he played the full game yesterday as the Red Devils came from 2-0 down at half-time to beat Aston Villa 3-2 with a brilliant second half performance.

His side fell behind to a never-seen-before free-kick tactic that left the goalkeeper and whole defence bamboozled.

It started to get even worse as Leander Dendoncker doubled the visitors’ lead.

However, a stirring second half performance saw them bounce back to earn a crucial victory.

Alejandro Garnacho grabbed a double while Rasmus Hojlund’s first Premier League goal sealed the points late on.