Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has announced his sudden retirement from international football at the age of just 29.
Confirming the news of his international retirement in a rather out-of-the-blue social media post that has caught many by surprise, let alone the French fans themselves, the United and World Cup-winning centre-back said he will be calling it day for his country with immediate effect.
While the former Real Madrid man and long-serving France international has suffered from more frequent injury problems in recent years, it was only back in December that he was in his second, consecutive World Cup final and is currently flying high with a resurgent United squad.
However, he has stated that his decision was driven by a desire to focus on his club career and no doubt hope to prolong his career. He issued a lengthy and emotional goodbye to his followers.
Varane writes in the caption: “Representing our great country for a decade has been one of the greatest honours of my life. Every time I wore this very special blue jersey I felt immense pride. The duty to give it all, play my heart out and win every time we put on the field. I’ve been contemplating this for several months and deciding it’s the right time for me to retire internationally.
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“As a child, I remember following France ’98, this team, these players who made us experience indescribable emotions. I dreamed of being our heroes and 20 years later I lived one of the best experiences of my life, one that made me really proud. We brought home the Cup!! I will never forget it.
“I still feel every single one of the emotions felt on that day, July 15, 2018. That was one of the most amazing and memorable moments of my life.” He also shared a moving video tracking his international career from his debut back in 2013 to what turned out to be his final appearance in Qatar 2022.
Varane’s retirement comes barely a month since he played in the Qatar World Cup final and just over a year away from the Euros
He goes on to write: “This victory that we won all together would never have been possible without the support of Didier Deschamps, every member of the management and staff over the years, and my teammates who have defended our shirt in every game we played.
“But more importantly, this victory would not have been possible without every single one of you supporting us along the way. Your fervour, the celebrations and the memories of our return to France will forever be etched in me…
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you”.
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This comes just weeks after countryman and Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris also announced his retirement, though his came as less of a surprise having turned 36 at the end of 2022.
Though many of his compatriots will be gutted to hear of his somewhat premature exit from international football — there are many who play for their country beyond the age of 30 — United fans will no doubt be relieved to hear that his sights are well and truly focused on winning silverware in red for now.
Varane is currently a key player in Erik ten Hag‘s ever-improving United team, who are currently sat in joint-fourth position in the Premier League table and have just made it to the EFL Cup final.
Nevertheless, he is hanging up his boots on the international stage with a World Cup winners medal to his name and having played in one of the best French squads we’ve seen for some time. Sadly, we won’t see him in it for the Euro 2024 next June.
Has Varane’s retirement come too early or is this a smart move on the seasoned professional’s part?
Two Greater Manchester-based Paralympians pick up MBEs following Paris 2024 heroics
Danny Jones
A pair of Paralympians born just down the road and honed two discipline-leading national performance centres here in Manchester have officially been awarded MBEs.
The Northerners doing the country proud – sounds about right.
First off, if the name Poppy Maskill doesn’t ring a bell, the promising Paralympic was Team GB’s best-performing para-athlete at Paris 2024 this past summer, contributing a total of five medals towards the nation’s joint-third-highest tally.
After her heroics at the Games, the teenager who turns 20 this weekend (Saturday, 29 March) was the recipient of an early and very prestigious birthday present, becoming one of the youngest individuals to be made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in history.
She was named on the New Year’s Honours list back in December but finally collected her latest medal in person this week following a ceremony at Windsor Castle, being honoured by King Charles III personally.
Hailing from Middlewich just less than an hour away from our city centre, Maskill might be a Cheshire girl by birth, but this young sporting gem is being polished right here at the state-of-the-art Manchester Aquatics Centre (MAC).
The youngster became the first Paralympian to pick up gold back in August after not only winning the 100m butterfly but smashing the world record in the process, too.
Competing in the S14 class – a category for athletes with intellectual impairments – she finished the heat with in just 1:03, surpassing the previous best by more than half a minute. But her impressive performance didn’t stop there.
MAC regular Maskill went on to win two more golds in the S14 100m backstroke and 4 x100m S14 freestyle relay, as well as a pair of silver medals in the 200m freestyle and 200m individual medley S14. Just incredible.
Poppy Maskill wasn’t the only Greater Manchester-based para-athlete who was recognised this month, though, as Stockport‘s very own two-time Paralympic champion Sophie Unwin was also presented with the accolade for her services to sport.
Named a member of the Order along with her co-pilot Jenny Holl, Unwin’s Paris 2024 medal haul included a double of golds in the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit and the road race tandem B, not to mention a silver in the road time trial and a bronze in the 1000m time trial at Paris 2024.
Following in the footsteps of fellow MBE and Stopfordian cycling legend, Dame Sarah Storey, who won her 19th gold medal to become Britain’s greatest Paralympian of all time – having made the most of MAC and the National Cycling Centre over in East Manchester during her career – the borough did us proud.
30-year-old Unwin has kicked on just as strong in the new year as well, notching a narrow victory to set an unofficial (unfortunately) world record of 4:36.737 in the women’s tandem at the 2025 Lloyds National Track Championships here in Manchester.
Former Manchester City player Joey Barton found guilty of assaulting his wife
Danny Jones
Ex-footballer Joey Barton has officially been found guilty of assaulting his wife following his two-day trial in the capital this week.
Barton, who played for Manchester City, Newcastle United, Queens Park Rangers and a number of other clubs, was convicted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 25 March, following an incident back in June 2021.
The former midfielder left his wife, 37-year-old Georgia Barton (McNeil), with a bleeding nose and a bruise on her forehead following a drunken row at their home in London.
Barton is said to have grabbed and pushed her to the floor before kicking her in the head. Married in 2019, the two have four children and are thought to still be together.
The 42-year-old was still employed in professional football as the manager of Bristol Rovers at the time, but he was ultimately sacked in October 2023.
His wife called 999 at the time, telling police that he had hit her, but later retracted her statement.
Born in Huyton, Merseyside, the chief magistrate Paul Goldspring recognised that the one-time England has a history of violence.
He was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence, meaning he won’t serve time unless he commits another offence and has been ordered to pay £2,138.
Since dropping out of mainstream football, in particular, Barton has come under heavy criticism for allegations of racism, sexism and controversial right-wing politics; he even started an ‘anti-woke’ podcast called Common Sense with Joey Barton.
Back in June of last year, he was ordered to pay £35,000 in damages to settle a libel claim with presenter Jeremy Vine after a series of inflammatory comments made online.
The Radio 2 presenter sued Mr Barton earlier this year, after the former footballer wrote a series of posts suggesting Mr Vine had a sexual interest in children.
He also accused of threatening fellow former pro, Eni Aluko, after a torrent of abuse regarding her punditry online – the ex-England international even went so far as to say she no longer felt safe staying in the country.
Danny Jones -
2nd February 2023 
