France defender Rafael Varane announced his retirement from international football on Thursday
Varane was part of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning squad in Russia, and ended his his international career with 93 caps for Les Bleus.
“Representing our great country for a decade has been one of the greatest honours of my life,” said Varane on social media.
“Every time I wore this very special blue jersey, I felt immense pride,” he said in an Instgaram post.
Varane, who is currently playing at Manchester United, made his senior debut for France in March 2013 at 19. He started his first match for France in a qualifier for the World Cup against Georgia, where his team clinched a 3–1 victory.
On May 17, 2018, Varane was called up to France’s 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He went on to start all seven of France’s games and played every minute of its World Cup-winning campaign
The central defender did not feature in the 2016 edition of the European Championships due to injury.
.Varane also reached the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but finished as the runner-up after Argentina beat France on penalties.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
