Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has reportedly been offered a £50million-a-year reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.
The Frenchman, 30, has been far from an assured starter in Erik ten Hag‘s side during a turbulent third season at Old Trafford.
United rejected the option to extend Varane’s contract by a further 12 months and he is free to speak with other clubs ahead of a summer move.
The World Cup winner from 2018 is among United’s highest earners on the £340,000-a-week deal he agreed when signing from Real Madrid in 2021.
According to the Daily Star, Al-Nassr are prepared to offer Varane a lucrative escape route from United in the summer.
A move there would reunite him with former Real Madrid and United team-mate Ronaldo.
It remains to be seen whether Varane is tempted by a move to the Saudi Pro League but the financial rewards on offer would exceed anything in his career to date.
Having started in the FA Cup fourth round win at Newport County and the midweek Premier League thriller at Wolves, Varane was dropped in favour of Harry Maguire for Sunday’s 3-0 win over West Ham.
But he was called upon for the final 20 minutes after Argentine Lisandro Martinez – with whom he forged a sound defensive partnership last season – went off with a knee ligament injury that will sideline him for at least eight weeks.
This should offer Varane more starting opportunities alongside Maguire or Victor Lindelof as United look to challenge for Champions League qualification and win the FA Cup.
A United club statement on Monday said: ‘Lisandro Martinez has sustained an injury to the medial collateral ligament in his knee and is expected to be out of action for at least eight weeks.
We all with Licha a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back on the pitch later in the season.’
Martinez won’t require surgery on the injury but it comes as a serious blow as he was only four games into a comeback from a broken foot which did require an operation.
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