Varane played for French club Lens at youth level and, ahead of the β11 season , began training with the senior team and appeared on the bench in several league matches. Varane made his professional debut in aged 17, [ 4 ] and after one season as a professional footballer, he joined Real Madrid.
He departed England in , joining newly-promoted Serie A side Como as a free agent, but after just playing 23 minutes for the club, picked up a knee injury and was removed from the squad list, before subsequently announcing his retirement from professional football in September Varane represented France at under , under and under level, before making his senior international debut in March He was part of France's FIFA World Cup squad in , when he was nominated for the Best Young Player award, [ 6 ] in , when he played every minute as France went on to win the competition, and in , when France finished as runners-up.
Varane announced his retirement from international football in , having earned 93 caps and scored five goals. Varane was born in the city of Lille in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. After returning full-time to Lens, Varane quickly ascended up the club's youth ranks.
In the β09 season, alongside teammates Thorgan Hazard and Geoffrey Kondogbia , he played on the club's under team that won the Championnat National des 16 ans.
In the following season, Varane was promoted to the club's under team, despite being two years younger than several of his teammates. Ahead of the β11 season , Varane signed his first professional contract.
