Lisandro Martinez explains key reason behind his and Raphael Varane’s brilliant partnership

Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have created one of the best centre-back partnerships that Manchester United fans have seen in a long, long time.

When Varane arrived at Manchester United in August of 2021, the mood around the club was ecstatic – he had joined alongside Jadon Sancho, and was soon to be reunited with Cristiano Ronaldo. The mood was good.

However, last season Varane suffered a number of set-backs, missing a total of 17 games through injury or illness, including a hamstring problem that kept him out for around two months.

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This season though, with the arrival of Lisandro Martinez, Varane has found himself forming a partnership with the Argentine defender that has allowed the two of them to create a formidable challenge for any forward line in world football.

Speaking to Sky Sports after Manchester United’s 3-1 FA Cup victory over Everton, Martinez has explained that the strong bond they have created is due to the “respect” they have for each other.

“We’ve only known each other a short time at Manchester United but we get on really, really well and there’s a real mutual respect and feeling between us,” explained Martinez. “It’s like we’ve known each other for years.”

Despite being teammates for the second half of 2022, they were rivals in mid-December when Argentina and France faced off in the World Cup final.

Argentina, after the historic fixture ended 3-3 after 120 minutes of some of the most rollercoaster football you could ever watch, won the match on penalties – but one significant moment after the fixture for United fans was the embrace between Varane and Martinez at full time.

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We shared that hug and it was important because football is like that,” recounted Martinez.

“What happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch, but what happens off it is just as important and relationships like that count.”

With Martinez now back and integrated into Erik ten Hag’s squad, there is no doubt that the Varane-Martinez partnership will get back into it’s full and brilliant swing once again as Manchester United head into a tough run of fixtures.