Varane could be close to trading the Premier League for playing in the Liga MX.
Raphaël Varane transfer linked to Liga MX's Tigres
According to multiple reports coming out of Mexico, Raphaël Varane has become Liga MX side Tigres UANL’s top transfer target this summer.
David Medrano, highly-renowned reporter of TV Azteca, revealed that Tigres is up to make a huge investment in the upcoming transfer window, with the Manchester United defender at the top of their list.
Mexican side Tigres are attempting a ‘madness’ by trying to recruit Raphaël Varane on a free transfer this summer.
(Source: El Guardián) pic.twitter.com/3MTd2pYDxt— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) May 16, 2024
“There’s gonna be surprises at Tigres [in the next transfer window], I’ll tell you guys soon. You will remember this,” said Medrano in the sports talk show ‘En Caliente.'
“A European that is a central defender is coming,” co-host Christian Martinoli added.
Bombazos en Tigres @medranoazteca confirma que habrá sorpresas en el equipo Felino#EnCaliente
— TV Azteca Deportes (@AztecaDeportes) May 14, 2024
Varane announced his departure from Manchester United at the end of the season after three years in the Premier League and while offers from MLS and Saudi Arabia are present, the four-time UEFA Champions League winner would not completely discard a move to Mexico.
This rumor has spread around the Mexican media in the last week, with another highly-renowned journalist, Jose Ramón Fernández, confirming that Tigres are in fact very interested in signing the 2018 World Cup winner.
“Tigres is gonna invest, I’m talking about a player like Varane and another Frenchman that is coming through a co-sign from André-Pierre Gignac,” said Fernández.
Pictures of Varane following current Tigres player and Frenchman André-Pierre Gignac have also fed the rumor.
¡RAPHAEL VARANE YA SIGUE A GIGNAC!
️|; Se filtran imágenes donde Raphael Varane ya sigue al astro francés, al rey de la liga Mx, Don Andre Pierre Gignac, el culpable de tener a Tigres como portada en periódicos en Londres, toda vez que ya ponen al central en Tigres y como… pic.twitter.com/AaMpqqkYAw— TigreCancunenseCampeon (@TigreCancunense) May 15, 2024
Since completing the bold transfer of then 29-year-old France international André-Pierre Gignac in 2015 — a signing that ultimately lead the Monterrey club to its most successful years in its history — the Tigres board has continuously looked to repeat the ‘Gignac formula’ by bringing French players to San Nicolás de la Garza.
Striker Andy Delort, defender Timothée Kolodziejczak and even 2018 World Cup champion Florian Thauvin are some of the most renowned French names to have had stints with the club, though without much of the same success as their compatriot.
Varane (31) is coming out of a difficult campaign with the Red Devils, having multiple physical setbacks throughout the beginning of the season and suffering a huge muscle injury in April that saw him miss the rest of the season.
The former Real Madrid man was on a reported $20 million a year salary at Old Trafford.