Former Manchester United defender Raphael Varane is making the most of his retirement - taking the time to visit former club RC Lens at the weekend.

The Frenchman announced his retirement from football back in September, just a few months after joining Serie A side Como on a free transfer. He remains with the Italian club as a board member.

Varane started his career with RC Lens, making his way through the youth team of the French club. He made 24 first team appearances before moving to Real Madrid in 2011.

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The defender joined United in 2021. He made 95 appearances for the club before leaving at the end of his contract this summer.

With more free time on his hands, Varane has made the most of it. He was spotted in the Lens home stand on Sunday as they took on Paris Saint Germain in the French Cup - but disguised himself in a club hat and scarf as his secret visit appeared to go largely unnoticed among supporters.

With the score at 1-1, the game went to penalties with PSG coming out as 3-4 winners in the shootout. Following the game, Varane took to social media to send a message about his attendance.

He shared a picture of him in a Lens hat as well as covering his face with a Lens scarf in among the home fans. In the caption, he wrote: “Back to the source…Don’t try to explain to them, they can’t understand.

“Love football, the emotions. This is what it is all about.”

The post was ‘liked’ by former United teammates Bruno Fernandes, Andre Onana and Diogo Dalot.

RC Lens also shared pictures of the former defender on their Instagram account. The caption translated as: "Full throttle…in the crowd. A chald and a Racing fan, @raphaelvarane was back among his own during #RCLPSG. Present at the heart of the Lensois kop in Bollaert-Delelis, the former player gave his voice to encourage the Blood and Gold."