Raphael Varane says Manchester United have signed a "warrior" in his former Real Madrid teammate Casemiro.
Casemiro completed his £70million transfer to United on Monday night and was unveiled in front of the Old Trafford crowd prior to their uplifting win over Liverpool.
Varane was teammates with Casemiro for eight years at Madrid, where they won four Champions Leagues together before Casemiro collected a fifth against Liverpool in May.
Also read: Full-time reactions inside Old Trafford shows how quickly Ten Hag has changed the mood
Casemiro arrived at Old Trafford around three hours before kick-off but did not meet his new teammates before or after their 2-1 triumph and Varane dispelled speculation he had persuaded the Brazilian to join the club.
“Yeah, very excited," Varane said of his reunion with Casemiro. "I know perfectly his quality. He can bring this balance to the team and his mentality. He's a warrior, so I think he will really enjoy English football. I know him (laughs).
“I think it was a perfect night for him to meet Old Trafford because the atmosphere was absolutely amazing, and he brings a victory so it’s nice!
“I think he doesn't need my help to make his choice. I know exactly what he feels and why he's coming here after what he lived in Madrid.
“He needs a new challenge, I know exactly what he feels, and I know exactly why he chose this club. It's a similar process that I had so obviously I wish him the best and I'm speaking with him a lot, but he didn't need me to make his choice.”
Varane was recalled for his first start under manager Erik ten Hag and formed an impressive partnership with new signing Lisandro Martinez.
The £55.3m Argentine excelled in the physical duels with Liverpool's forwards and was mentored expertly by Varane, who savoured United's first Premier League success against their rivals since March 2018.
“He brings to the team his determination, his motivation and, yeah, he has this mentality, this fighting spirit," Varane said of Martinez. "He showed it tonight.
"I really enjoyed it on the pitch tonight - the atmosphere, the spirit of the team," he explained. “I came to England to feel these emotions after everything I left in Madrid, and this feeling was amazing. Absolutely amazing.
“The crowd, the fans and the fight on the pitch was amazing. Absolutely. I enjoyed it.
"We know the potential of the team but tonight we really needed a proud reaction in front of our fans. It was absolutely necessary.
“I hope it's the real starting of the season (for us) because the two first games the mentality was not good enough. We had to fight like we fight tonight.
“We know what we can do but we did it tonight and I hope we keep pushing like this. “We try to stick together. We're a team so we fight for each other. That's why I really enjoyed it.”
Ten Hag revealed Varane has been following a personal fitness programme after missing 17 games last season through muscular injuries.
The 29-year-old came on at half-time in the 4-0 drubbing by Brentford and his delayed start to the season appeared to benefit Varane as he led an otherwise young back four to three points against Liverpool.
United's approach against Liverpool was in stark contrast to their lethargic performances against Brighton and Brentford when Varane was able to pinpoint issues from the dugout.
“It's difficult to explain why but we didn't start the games with the same intensity, with the same fighting spirit," he explained. “We had the motivation but it's difficult to explain why it was starting with this low energy.
“Football, it's about energy, it's about when you have to push, when you have to stay calm, when you have to attack. Tonight we show great control. It was a mature performance tonight."
"I feel very good," he added of his fitness. "I was ready for the start of the season, but I didn't start so I had more time to keep building the fitness. We know how demanding the Premier League is, so I work a lot to be fit, to be ready.
"I have demonstrated in the past what I can do when I'm fit, so that's my focus for this season. I really want to help the team.
“Some moments in the last season were frustrating so, yeah, tonight I really enjoyed because I know the way was not easy. That's it, I know I need to be fit to enjoy.”
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