French defender Raphael Varane of Manchester United announced on Thursday that he has retired from international competitions on behalf of the national team.

"Representing our beautiful country for a decade has been one of the greatest honors of my life," Varane said in a statement. "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," he added.

Varane, 29, has made 93 appearances for Les Bleus since he was selected into the French national team for the first time in 2013. He participated in three editions of FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018, 2022 and the UEFA European Championships in 2021. His solid performance in the back line was key to France in winning the World Cup title in 2018 in Russia.

"Raphael called me a few days ago to explain that he wanted to end his international career. He's an intelligent boy who knows how to take the time to think about it and weigh up the pros and cons before deciding," Didier Deschamps, manager of France, said.

"Raphael believes he has reached the end of his adventure with the French team. I've been in a similar situation to him, I understand his arguments and respect his decision," he added. "As our paths separate, I wanted to salute his honesty, his unfailing commitment to the blue jersey. Raphael has played a central role on and off the field for the past decade."

On the club level, Varane grew to become one of the world's top center-backs in Real Madrid where he won three La Liga championships and four YEFA Champions League titles among other honors between 2011 and 2021. Man United paid 40 million euros (about $43.7 million) to bring Varane to Old Trafford in August 2021.

Man United are currently fourth on the Premier League standings table with 39 points after 20 games. They are 11 points behind the leaders Arsenal which have played one fewer game.