Raphael Varane has made his mind up on the best league in the world – and just half a season at Manchester United has convinced him it’s the Premier League.
The defender has played in three different leagues during his career so far, having begun his career in his native France with Lens, and spending 10 years in Spain at Real Madrid before making the move to United last summer.
Varane has made just 16 appearances since arriving at Old Trafford, during which time his new side have struggled for form as they battle to finish in the top four – a contrast to his time in Madrid where he won three La Liga titles and for Champions Leagues.
Despite that, the 28-year-old is adamant the Premier League outranks its Spanish equivalent.
“The intensity is very different,” Varane told United’s website.
“The pace of the game is a really high level. It’s a great experience. I like the atmosphere around the stadiums.
“I like the mentality. It’s very intense but always in good spirit and very positive. This experience for me is great.”
Varane also pointed to the depth of quality in the Premier League being greater than during his time at his previous clubs.
“Yeah, the games are very difficult,” he added. “You can’t be relaxed, you can be winning a game and you know if you have 10 minutes to play, anything can happen.
“I think it’s the best league in the world and the intensity is absolutely amazing. Every team has players with top quality.
“Tactically, it’s a very high level and there are a lot of players and coaches from everywhere. So it’s a mix about different cultures and different styles of players and of mentality.
“I think that is why the league is top because it's the best from everywhere, you know.”
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