Raphael Varane is free to negotiate with any club after Manchester United decided against extending his contract for one year, reported Manchester Evening News on Monday.
Varane, 30, joined United in 2021 and slowly emerged as their best defender. However, he fell out of favour with head coach Erik Ten Hag and found it difficult to get consistent playing this time.
He only started five games in the Premier League (PL) this season, three of which came last month as Ten Hag was forced to trust the Frenchman after injuries to key players.
However, Varane now feels that he is being pushed by the club as they are not extending his contract, which ends in June 2024, for one more year.
Varane is not a fan of leaving the club mid-season and would prefer moving to his new club during summer as he has interest from Saudi Pro League and other clubs.
Al-Ittihad showed interest in the Frenchman and a move to the Middle East would see him reuniting with his former teammate Karim Benzema, with whom he played at Madrid for 10 years.
As things stand, a move to the Saudi Pro League remains a huge possibility for Varane, who aims for constant first-team playing time.
It must be noted that Man United suffered a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in their last of 2023 which increased the worries of Ten Hag.
Ten Hag had a worse start to a season than one of Man United’s worst managers this century, David Moyes, as the 20-time PL champions already witnessed their 14th loss of the season and there are still five months of club football left
Man United were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) as well after finishing at the bottom of their group. Time is passing and Ten Hag will need to find answers before the club's management and fans decide to go behind his back and demand the Dutchman's sacking, like they did with their previous managers — Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Despite being one of the biggest clubs in the world, United last won a league title in 2013, which was the last season of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, while their last UCL win was in 2008, when they defeated Chelsea in the final.
