Real Madrid have signed former Lens defender Raphael Varane against a reported ten million euro fee. The 18-year-old Frenchman is to set new heights with the Spanish champions after his former team relegated into Ligue 2 this term. Varane is thus likely to play alongside Albiol, Carvalho, Pepe and Sergio Ramos in the defence, having penned a six-year contract with Jose Mourinho’s side. Varane becomes the ofuth big name to join the Madrilenos who have also signed Nuri Sahin, Hamit Altintop and their former player Callejon of Espanyol. Ramos looked pleased with the move, although he might fight harder for his place.
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“Afirst rate player who feels comfortable on the pitch, both tactically and technically. I’m sure he will be successful,” said the winger of his new team-mate. Varane scored two goals in 23 Ligue 1 appearances with Lens whom he left after one year. Apart from his move to Santiago Bernabeu, Jose Mourinho also wants Atletico’s Sergio Aguero and Santos’s Neymar in Madrid. Aguero, who finished this season with 20 goals and two assists, is more likely to join Juventus, according to his agent Bruno Satin who has revelaed that the 23-year-old Argentine is very close to a move on delle Alpi. Anyway, his move to local rivals might be a bad choice according to the same Satin who considers that this could attract wide criticism from Atletico fans. As for Neymay, Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira has declared that five big European teams have looked willing to pay more than $60 million for the young striker who has impressed over the last two years with the large number of goals scored for the Brazilian side.
At the same time, Mourinho is keen to keep both Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain on Bernabeu, and is also willing to buy Emmanuel Adebayor, who has ended his loan job this summer. The Special One, who is looking forward to strengthening his side for the next term, made no secret of his Aguero move desire, claiming that “I will not be a hypocrite. Kun is a fantastic player, I won’t be afraid to say it but he’s an Atletico player. Madrid will not contact players before making an agreement with their club.” As for Benzema, the Frenchman who scored 15 goals in 33 league appearances this term, has adjusted with the team after a poor season start which saw him spend much of the time on the bench.
Mourinho’s confidence helped the striker to feel more comfortable now claiming that he expects more trophies next season. Real Madrid were also ousted from the UCL semi finals by the arch-rivals FC Barcelona who eventually won the European trophy. Also, Real failed to win the title in Mourinho’s first year, but did manage to hoist the Copa del Rey after nine years. They finished the season second, having reserved a UEFA Champions League group stage spot.
