“So wrong of him” – Man United player branded “soft” and blasted for pre-season statement
The FA, ahead of the 2023/24 season, announced that they would be adding more reflective amounts of added time for the coming campaign in order to crack down on time wasting.
The decision, which has been implemented in both English and European competition, has seen many games played that last well over 100 minutes, and moments such as during the Manchester United Copenhagen tie where the first half had 13 minutes of time added to the end of the first half after multiple injuries and VAR stoppages occurred.
Before the season started, Raphaël Varane released a statement thoroughly opposing the changes, stating that it would negatively affect player welfare both physically and mentally.
Fast forward to November, and Varane has seemingly dropped in status within the United squad, with Ten Hag opting to pick Victor Lindelöf, Jonny Evans, and Harry Maguire all ahead of the Frenchman.
Speaking to mybettingsites, former United player Paul Parker has explained that he believes Varane’s statement was “so wrong” and that it makes him appear “soft”.
“Before the season even started Varane was already moaning because of the extra minutes being added to the game,” Parker said.
“It was so wrong of him to come out and say that. Maybe, only maybe, I would have understood it, if it came from Martínez because he is a different character than Varane, but when it was coming from him it made absolutely no sense.
“He was making excuses already even though playing a few extra minutes doesn’t make any difference, especially not for him as he never wants to play anyway.
“He seems a bit soft to me and with the amount of games already, something must be wrong. Right now, the manager is letting him sit there on the touchline and there must be a reason for that.”
Speaking further, Parker explained that he feels Erik ten Hag is unable to rely on either Harry Maguire or Raphaël Varane.
“I don’t know what the reason is and I don’t want to take a guess but there must be a reason why he is doing that,” he said in relation to Varane being dropped from first-choice centre-back.
“Erik ten Hag can’t rely on Varane or Maguire. He can rely on Jonny Evans, much more than the other two, to be honest.
“I´m very worried about how strong Varane is mentally. Football is giving him a lot, and it’s giving him what he loves, allegedly, so he got to give a bit back to his teammates.
“He [Ten Hag] can’t wait until he [Varane] is 100% fit, you will never be 100% fit in football. He is getting loads of money so in my opinion he should start helping his teammates.”