Cristiano Ronaldo faces an uncertain future a Manchester United since conveying the club he wants to leave. The forward however is yet to find his next club despite holding talks with several sides.
Amidst Ronaldo’s exit reports, his teammate Raphael Varane has now hailed his influence at the club since joining last summer.
The Portuguese came under heavy criticism last season for his lack of work-rate despite netting 24 goals in all competitions. Further on, his decision to leave United this summer hasn’t gone down well too.
However, Varane has rubbished the talks of Ronaldo being a ‘problem’ rather than a force at the club.
‘He’s a legend’- Raphael Varane Defends Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane both signed for United last season. The pair had formerly shared the dressing room at Real Madrid for seven years, winning a massive 4 Champions League titles together.
Their signing, along with Jadon Sancho last summer was expected to make Manchester United the title favourites. However, the club endured a disastrous campaign which saw them finish sixth.
Ronald as a result has requested a transfer in order to continue to play in the Champions League for over 2 decades. Meanwhile, Varane has now opened up about preparing for next season along with Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Of course we want to improve. Cristiano is a great competitor, he’s a legend. Obviously it’s very good to play with him and he always helps the team.
“He’s a great player and we all want the best players in the team. We will try to improve next season.”
The center-back further addressed the criticism which came Ronaldo’s way after his ‘weary’ displays for United last season. “We appreciate him as a player and as a person,” said Varane. “I think this debate was outside of the dressing room. We know his quality.”
He added, “And we know he’s very famous, so we know a lot of people will speak about the performance of the team and his performance.”
Meanwhile, Varane also talked about his center-back partner Harry Maguire, who has been backed as the captian of the club by Erik ten Hag.
“I think he’s a very important player for us. He’s the captain and he has a lot of great qualities. Obviously we support him and he’s part of the team and very important for us.”
Varane too had a season to forget with United last year. Nonetheless, the Frenchman is looking for bright start under new boss Ten Hag after featuring in the 4-0 win over Liverpool in the preseason.