Topics: Raphael Varane, Zinedine Zidane, Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag
Raphael Varane has already made his feelings clear on who Manchester United should hire if they sack Erik ten Hag.
This week, Ten Hag has been heavily scrutinised after a string of poor performances.
United fans made their feelings clear after Wednesday night’s 3-0 defeat against Newcastle United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Since then, odds have been slashed on Ten Hag being sacked, with Zinedine Zidane the bookies’ favourite to take over as United boss.
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Having already worked with Zidane at Real Madrid, Varane has previously spoken positively about the France legend.
He told The Times: “I will give you the details! It was a crazy moment of my life!
“I was playing with the first team and the club knew I had to be sold. So when Zizou called me, I was really busy and I didn’t know it was him at the beginning. When I recognised him, I was shocked. ‘Oh wow!’ It was crazy, so I asked him to call me back another day because I was busy and in shock.”
Varane continued: “He was fine. Zizou is very humble and a very normal person so he understood completely. Ten seconds after, I called my brother and told him ‘You don’t know what I just did!’ It was crazy, crazy! For my generation, if you ask ‘tell me about one football player’, it’s Zizou. He’s the most famous and most respected player.”
Varane then spoke about the time Sir Alex Ferguson tried luring him to United.
He said: “Another shock! I was looking out of the window to see if he is really coming in my house. When he came, I didn’t speak English, my mum speaks perfect English so she spoke more with him. It was a discussion for an hour about how he can help me to grow as a person and player. It was a big experience.
“For me, Manchester United always was a big, big club with a big history. I remember when [Rio] Ferdinand and [Nemanja] Vidic were playing together. I always respected this club and the history. [David] Beckham, a lot of players with a big legacy at this club, so, yes, I always respected English football and especially United.”
Varane continued: “The first idea was to come to United. Because of circumstances, Zizou called me and the transfer accelerated very quickly and I went to Madrid. I spoke with [José] Mourinho, went back to France and took the Baccalaureat the day after I saw Mourinho.” He passed. “Yes! It was an absolutely crazy month!”
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