
Raphael Varane earned the admiration of all European football in his first year in the elite when he was just 18 years old. His impressive height allows him to dominate the aerial game; his versatility makes him a solid defender or central midfielder; and his speed, sense of anticipation, dribbling skills and maturity turned him into one of the most important players on his previous side.
Varane was formed at the academy of Lens, one of the most prolific in France in recent years. Hailing by family from Martinique (his father was born in Le Morne-Rouge), the defender played 23 league games with Lens in the 2010/11 season, 22 of them as a starter. Varane made his debut with a 2-0 victory over Montpellier on 6 November 2010. Three weeks later, he earned a starting position under coach Jean-Guy Wallemme and kept it when Laszlo Boloni replaced him.
Raphael Varane made his international debut with France's Under-18s against Denmark, scoring the last goal in a 24 August friendly (2-0). After a second match with the team he was promoted to the Under-21 side.

Varane started playing football at a football academy in Lievin, which trains players from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. He stayed there two years.
His second match with France's Under-21 side saw him play against Madridistas Sergio Canales, Nacho Fernandez and Juan Carlos. France won the match 3-2 at Reims' Auguste-Delaune Stadium.

| Liga Española 1ª División 2012-13 | Champions League 2012-13 | Copa del Rey 2012-13 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | 15 | 11 | 7 | ||
| Matches Started | 12 | 10 | 6 | ||
| Matches Subbed In | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Minutes Played | 1177 | 973 | 615 | ||
| Minutes Played Starter | 1053 | 952 | 569 | ||
| Minutes Played Sub | 124 | 21 | 46 | ||
| Goals Scored | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Headers Scored | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Goals w/ Right Foot | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Goals w/ Left Foot | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Penalty Kicks Scored | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Free Kicks Scored | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Goals as Starter | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Goals as Sub | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Shots | 9 | 10 | 5 | ||
| On-Goal Percentage | 0 | 0 | 40 | ||
| Assists w/ Goal | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Yellow Cards | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Fouls Committed | 6 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Fouls Drawn | 4 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Steals | 102 | 112 | 59 | ||
| Turnovers | 44 | 36 | 36 | ||
| Penalties Received | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Penalties Committed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Crosses Into Big Box | 4 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Total Passes | 448 | 432 | 258 | ||
| Passes Completed | 380 | 373 | 201 | ||
| Passes Incompleted | 68 | 59 | 57 |
| Liga Española 1ª División 2011-12 | Champions League 2011-12 | Copa del Rey 2011-12 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | 9 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Matches Started | 7 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Matches Subbed In | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Minutes Played | 709 | 373 | 184 | ||
| Minutes Played Starter | 655 | 373 | 184 | ||
| Minutes Played Sub | 54 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Goals Scored | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Headers Scored | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Goals w/ Right Foot | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Goals w/ Left Foot | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Penalty Kicks Scored | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Free Kicks Scored | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Goals as Starter | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Goals as Sub | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Shots | 8 | 3 | 2 | ||
| On-Goal Percentage | 12 | 33 | 50 | ||
| Assists w/ Goal | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Yellow Cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Fouls Committed | 8 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Fouls Drawn | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Steals | 75 | 35 | 21 | ||
| Turnovers | 30 | 16 | 9 | ||
| Penalties Received | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Penalties Committed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Crosses Into Big Box | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total Passes | 349 | 302 | 110 | ||
| Passes Completed | 299 | 282 | 95 | ||
| Passes Incompleted | 50 | 20 | 15 |

ARTICLE - 25/05/2013
The Croatian is now the fifth on the team for most time played in the championship
ARTICLE - 25/05/2013
The Whites were welcomed by more than three hundred fans at the airport of the Basque city
ARTICLE - 25/05/2013
The two footballers had a good time with the white supporters that had gone to the place the team were resting