Former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Raphael Varane has retired from football, just two months after signing with Como.
Varane left Manchester United at the end of last season following the expiration of his contract and subsequently joined Serie A club Como on an initial two-year deal.
However, the 31-year-old suffered a serious knee injury during his debut against Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia, forcing him to leave the field after just 23 minutes.
As a result, he has been removed from Como’s Serie A squad and is expected to be sidelined for an extended period.
The defender has experienced several injury setbacks in recent years, and this latest issue could potentially mark the end of his illustrious career, during which he has won four Champions League titles, three La Liga championships, and the FA Cup.
When Varane joined Como in July, he expressed excitement about the challenge of helping the club establish itself in Serie A and shared his enthusiasm about working with manager Cesc Fabregas.
“I’m very happy and excited about this new project, and I can’t wait to get started and meet up with the team and my team-mates,” Varane told club media.
“There’s also the physical preparation for the season to look forward to.
“At first, I was curious to find out what the project was all about, and then I immediately saw that it was special, different from any other I’d been offered, so I wanted to know more.
“The more I learned about the project, the more interesting it became, giving me a different perspective on what I wanted to do.
“Once the project came along, it went straight to the top of the list, and we managed to close the deal.
“I’m very happy.
“There’s a lot to do, and it’s very exciting. I have a lot of experience at the highest level, and now to be able to share that knowledge and help a club build itself up and hopefully reach the top is super exciting.
“I’m meeting Cesc again, but not as an opponent this time.
“I’m very happy, I really like his philosophy of play and his passion for football.
“When we spoke it was so easy to understand each other, so I hope we’ll have very positive results.
“In any case, I’m coming with a great deal of humility to help the team and the club grow.”
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