- Varane spent three seasons at Man United after a £42m move from Real Madrid
- Frenchman was forced into an early retirement months after his Old Trafford exit
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Does Ruben Amorim come under pressure at Manchester United this season?
Former Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has opened up on his often ‘tense’ and ‘complicated’ relationship with Erik ten Hag, who he believes ‘wanted to gain respect through fear’.
The Frenchman recalled a ‘robust’ discussion with the former Red Devils manager that preceded an extended and unexplained spell on the sidelines.
Varane, who was forced into early retirement just four months after leaving Old Trafford last May, said the Dutchman always needed to be in a conflict and revealed that his connection was the squad ‘no longer existed’ after the FA Cup final win over Manchester City.
‘It’s hard to find the right words. It was very tense at times,’ he told the Athletic. ‘Sometimes he made an effort to listen to the players’ feedback. Sometimes he made decisions without listening to the players’ feelings. So there were ups and downs. It was complicated at times.’
Ten Hag’s tenure at Manchester United was punctuated by high-profile clashes with Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho. The former Ajax boss fell out with the former few short months into his reign after the Portuguese refused to go on as a substitute in a match against Tottenham.
Ronaldo subsequently accused Ten Hag of not showing him respect in a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan, leading to his United contract being terminated in November 2022.
Raphael Varane has opened up on his ‘tense’ and ‘complicated’ relationship with Erik ten Hag
The Frenchman played just 18 minutes in two months in the Premier League after a ‘robust discussion’ with Ten Hag
Varane believes that the Dutchman needed to be in conflict, having had high profile fall out with Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho
Sancho, meanwhile, was removed from first-team training after hitting out at his manager on social media following claims by the coach that his training performances were sub-par.
The winger insisted Ten Hag was lying about his displays and refused to apologise, resulting in his exile from the first team and subsequent moves to Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea.
While Varane acknowledged that his issues with the Dutchman were not on the same scale as his former team-mates, the 31-year-old opened up on his own run in with the manager, who failed to give him an explanation for an extended absence from the team after the pair had shared ‘some truths’.
‘We had a robust discussion,’ he said. ‘We told each other some truths, but then I didn’t play for almost two months.
‘I said I didn’t agree with certain ways of doing things regarding the relationship between him and the team. It wasn’t something that I thought was good for the team because some of the players weren’t at all satisfied. It was not good in terms of the relationship with the coach.’
Varane’s longest non-injury related spell out of the team came towards the end of 2023 when he played just 18 minutes in the Premier League between mid October and December.
In an interview with French outlet L’Equipe last year, Varane admitted that he wanted to stay at Old Trafford beyond the expiration of his contract, which concluded a moderately successful three-year stint following his £42million move from Real Madrid.
However, realising that the winds had turned in Manchester, he opted to walk away after a standout last game in the FA Cup final win over City. Much of the build up to the Wembley clash was dominated by the uncertainty over Ten Hag’s future.
Varane said that he was surprised Ten Hag remained as manager after the FA Cup final because he had lost connection with the team
And the Dutchman would eventually retain his job, for a few more months at least, after the stunning win, but Varane believes this was a mistake and was surprised the Dutchman survived the chop.
He added: ‘The connection with the group no longer existed.’
Fortunes at Old Trafford have only worsened since Ten Hag’s departure, with the club falling to their eighth league defeat under new boss Ruben Amorim – their 12th overall – in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Tottenham.
The Red Devils sit 15th in the top flight ahead of fixtures against Everton and Ipswich.
