Julien Moreau with AFP
modified to
2:11 p.m., February 02, 2023
After 10 years in the France team, Blues defender Raphaël Varane announced his international retirement on Thursday at the age of 29. The Manchester United player had 93 selections with the Blues.
The central defender and vice-captain of the France team Raphaël Varane (93 selections), world champion in 2018 and finalist of the World Cup-2022 in Qatar, announced Thursday his international retirement at 29 years old. He joins Karim Benzema, Steve Mandanda and Hugo Lloris who announced their international retirement in recent weeks. “Representing our beautiful country for a decade has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Every time I have worn this special blue jersey, I have felt immense pride,” wrote on Instagram the current Manchester United player.
A first selection in 2013 against Georgia
The Habs have decided to end their career with the France team, ten years after their debut with the Blues on March 22, 2013 against Georgia, in a match counting for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. give it my all, play with my heart and win every time we step onto the pitch. I’ve been thinking about it for several months and decided it’s the right time for me to retire from international football. “said Raphael Varane. The northern footballer has decided to retire from international football by evoking a certain physical and psychological wear and tear according to Le Parisien. His last selection for the France team dates back to December 18, 2022 during the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina where the defender of the Blues was released in the 113th minute.
“Raphael called me a few days ago to explain to me that he wanted to put an end to his international career. He is an intelligent boy, who knows how to take the time to reflect, weigh the pros and cons before to decide. Raphaël believes that he has reached the end of his adventure with the France team. I understand his arguments and respect his decision even if it may seem regrettable in view of everything he has been able to do with the selection until the World Cup during which he behaved, from start to finish, like the leader we know,” said Didier Deschamps.
Varane could have recovered the captain’s armband
The announcement of the quadruple winner of the Champions League is surprising since he was on the shortlist to recover the captain’s armband for Euro 2024 after the announcement of the retirement of Hugo Lloris. But the Habs decided to stop, ten years after his debut with the Blues, in March 2013.