He won 18 trophies – including four Champions Leagues – before joining Manchester United for £34million on a four-year deal.

But now Varane could be on his way back to the Spanish giants.

The 14-time European champions have been hit by a swathe of injuries at the back.

And that has prompted Los Blancos to start looking for emergency cover.

According to Bild, Varane is among their top targets.

The World Cup winner has found himself down the pecking order at Old Trafford this season and transfer listed amid interest from Saudi Arabia.

Erik ten Hag currently prefers Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and even Jonny Evans.

And that has limited Varane to just 430 minutes of Premier League action.

So his bizarre exile could see him answer Madrid’s SOS call when the transfer market reopens in January.

Eder Militao underwent surgery in August after tearing his ACL and this weekend, fellow centre-back David Alaba suffered the same horrible knee injury at the weekend.

That leaves Antonio Rudiger and Nacho as the only remaining fit central defenders.

French midfielders Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni have both filled in at the back at times this season.

But they are also currently sidelined with knee ligament damage and a foot fracture respectively.

Elsewhere, Carlo Ancelotti is without Vinicius Junior as well while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois looks set to miss the whole season and Euro 2024 after doing his ACL.3David Alaba will spend the start of 2024 on the sidelines after his ACL injuryCredit: Getty3Varane won four Champions League titles with Los Blancos