Varane: I met with Ferguson, but nothing ever happened and Real Madrid came in

Raphael Varane has revealed just how close he was to signing for Manchester United back in 2011, prior to joining Real Madrid.

Having eventually signed for the Red Devils this summer from Los Blancos, the Frenchman also spoke openly about various ongoing at his current club, including Cristiano Ronaldo's return and Paul Pogba's future.

"It is true that my family and I met Sir Alex Ferguson and it was a fantastic experience for me. But nothing ever happened and in the end Real Madrid came in," Varane said in an interview with Norwegian outlet TV2. "You know the rest of the story."

"I had a great time at Madrid and I think maybe it was my destiny to go there. I'm happy to have spent ten wonderful years there."

Now, however, he has finally made his way to Old Trafford.

"I think I needed a new challenge and I wanted to experience the Premier League," he said.

"Manchester United are a club full of history and they want to get back to the top, which was a challenge that tempted me.

"The club is like a family and I have come here to do my best and to help the team."

Varane revealed what his new coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke to him about ahead of his move to the Red Devils.

"He told me about the club's plans and the team's ambitions," Varane said.

"He also talked about his experience as a Manchester United player, and how it was going to be for me considering what the team wants to achieve.

"The talk was a lot about those moments of joy afterwards, of winning something, and he spoke for a long time about the skills of this team and how we must go about becoming winners."

Varane has been reunited with international colleague Paul Pogba, whose United deal expires next summer, and the defender hopes the midfielder will stay at the club beyond next year.

"Of course it is his decision, but of course I hope he will stay here for a long time," Varane said.

"He is a fantastic player, so I certainly hope that he will stay."

Finally, he was asked about his new central defensive partner Harry Maguire.

"He is a top player. On the field, we are still working on getting to know each other better," he said.

"We try to talk to each other to understand each other even better, and thus coordinate our movements and our positioning.

"This applies not only to me and Harry, but to the entire defence."