Real Madrid is confident of the departure of defender Raphael Varane. The club had offered renewal offers to which the player and his entourage’s response has been negative.
The Spanish club understands that he will not renew his contract or sign a new deal and, after the signing of David Alaba from Bayern Munich on a free transfer, the fourth center-back option would be Jesus Vallejo.
Real Madrid’s management, has already opted for David Alaba to replace club legend and captain Sergio Ramos who leaves Madrid after the expiration of his contract with the club. the La Liga giants have decided to renew Nacho’s contract and Militao stepping up when needed provides the club with confidence to be the third centre-back option.
Kylian Mbappe on the other hand is also in the last year of his current deal with Paris Saint-Germain and has reportedly refused several contract extension offers by the club. PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi has is confident that Mbappe will sign a new deal with the Ligue 1 giants and is adamant that the French forward will not be allowed to leave on a free transfer. However, Mbappe’s refusal to sign a new contract with PSG is cause for concern as his contract expires in the summer of 2023 and could see him leave on a free transfer to Real Madrid. Mbappe’s current market valuation is in the region of €180 million to €200 million. In a COVID-19 impacted market with depleted finances, Madrid cannot afford to pay this transfer fee coupled with his wage demands and hence would benefit from a free transfer in 2023.
Varane previously had doubts to renew his contract with Madrid because of offers from other clubs and wanted to leave for new pastures as he has already won domestic titles with Real Madrid. Now the Frenchman is open to new offers from clubs and Madrid has set a price tag of €60 million on the defender.
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United are among the interested clubs as they look to bolster their defence for the upcoming season. Madrid hopes they can reinvest the money received from Varane’s sale into other defensive or attacking options. Madrid’s reported targets include Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, Villareal’s Pau Torres and Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte.
