Raphael Varane rejected a better contract at Real Madrid in order to seal a move to Manchester United this summer.
On Tuesday United announced they had agreed a deal with Real for the 28-year-old, with the transfer set to officially go through once a medical and final personal terms have been completed after a mandatory quarantine period is observed.
Varane’s transfer fee is said to be an initial £39 million and he will also be among United’s highest-paid players once he puts pen to paper on a four-year deal.
However, James Ducker from The Telegraph reports that Varane turned down a healthier pay packet at Los Blancos.
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Real were desperate to extend Varane’s stay at the Santiago Bernabeu and offered him a significant pay rise. They presented many proposals and then tabled a final offer in March of this year.
It was much better – financially – than what United will be paying him but Varane, despite even being in contention to become Real’s new captain, was keen on a new challenge and so knocked back the offer.
Fast forward a few months and Varane is now on his way to United, ten years on from when the club tried to sign him back when he was a rising prospect at RC Lens.
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Varane comes with a wealth of experience at the highest level, with Champions League and World Cup winners medals in his collection.
And United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is understandably delighted over the capture, which follows on from the £73 million signing of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.
“Of course very happy that we’ve managed to get a deal with Real Madrid,” Solskjaer told MUTV on Wednesday.
“The medical should hopefully be OK and he’s a proven winner. He’s a player we’ve followed for many, many years.
“I know Sir Alex (Ferguson) was very, very close to signing him, so this time around we’ve got him at the other end of his career.
“He’s proved over his whole career what a good person he is first of all, professional and he’s won what there is to win. I’m very happy getting both our players in.”