Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has been given some sound advice about Manchester United
Aurelien Tchouameni has emerged as a Manchester United target(Image: Getty Images)
Aurelien Tchouameni has already been given compelling reasons to quit Real Madrid for Manchester United. The Frenchman is reportedly near the top of the club’s midfield shortlist this summer.
The Telegraph reports that Real could allow the 26-year-old to leave if they sign a midfielder themselves. The 15-time European champions have been linked with Manchester City’s Rodri, whom president Florentino Perez is said to admire.
Tchouameni wouldn’t be the first player to trade the Bernabeu for Old Trafford. Raphael Varane made the switch in 2021, having won 18 trophies during his decade in Spain. Tchouameni won the Champions League and Copa de Rey with Los Blancos in 2024, having joined from Monaco in 2022.
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Having turned United down earlier in his career, Varane explained why he felt it was the right time to head to Old Trafford on The Bridge podcast with Tchouameni in March last year.
Varane said: “It was actually a long process. It’s not like you wake up in the morning and say I want to leave.
“In 2018, I won everything. In fact, we celebrated our fourth Champions League title quickly. It was like a normal thing. The next step is to win the Champions League and think about the next one.
Tchouameni has two year left on his Real Madrid contract(Image: Pressinphoto/Icon Sport via Getty Images)
“Then I won the World Cup and I said to myself, ‘I’ve done it all.’ There came a point in my life where I restricted myself, reviewed some things regarding my career management and said to myself, ‘I need to keep feeling emotions, I need something different.'”
While Varane’s injury-hindered spell at Old Trafford didn’t pan out as hoped, he did win the FA Cup and Carabao Cup under Erik ten Hag. He added: “Madrid is indescribable, it’s exceptional, but I’ve already experienced it.
“And I said to myself, ‘I want to experience something else.’ For me, England, and Manchester in particular, is where you feel the passion for football. You feel it, you live it every day. Now that some time has passed, I have no regrets because it was an incredible experience.”
Raphael Varane has told Tchouameni about life in Manchester(Image: PA)
United will hope those words of wisdom will have left a lasting impact on Tchouameni as he weighs up his future. Signing a player entering his prime years would be a real statement of intent by United, who have been linked with a host of other midfield options, including Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace.
As for Varane, who left United following the expiry of his contract in the summer of 2024, he was forced to retire at the age of just 31 after suffering a serious knee injury while playing for Italian side Como.
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