France defender Raphael Varane is retiring from international football, ending a 10-year career with Les Bleus in which he won the World Cup in 2018 and was a runners-up four years later.
The 29-year-old, who has 93 caps after making his debut in 2013, also helped Didier Deschamps’s side win the Nations League in the 2020-21 season.
“Representing our beautiful country for a decade has been one of the greatest honours of my life,” Varane said in a statements.
“Every time I wore that special blue jersey I felt an immense sense of pride, the duty to give everything, to play with my heart and to win every time we took the field.
“I’ve been thinking about it for several months and I decided that it was the right time for me to retire from international football.”
Varane was five years old when France won their first World Cup in 1998.
The sight of Zinedine Zidane scoring twice against Brazil, and France celebrating a 3-0 win, sparked his desire for the game.
“As a child I remember watching France ‘98, this team, these players who filled me with indescribable emotions.
“It was a dream to emulate our heroes and, 20 years later, I experienced one of the greatest moments of my life,” Varane added. “I will never forget this.”
