Raphael Varane: 'Real Madrid players lost track of Neymar rumours'

Raphael Varane has admitted that Real Madrid players "lost track" of the transfer saga involving Neymar and Barcelona over the summer.

The Brazilian, who moved to Paris Saint-Germain for £198m in 2017, spent all summer pushing for a return to Camp Nou.

When it became clear that a deal involving Barcelona and PSG would not happen, it was reported in Spain that Los Blancos had entered the race for Neymar.

Speaking to Le Parisien about the transfer saga, Varane said: "We did not talk about it a lot, because we were already focused on our beginning of the season. Every day there were new announcements. We ended up losing track of what was happening!"

Barcelona reportedly plan to return next summer with a fresh bid for Neymar, whom they view as a 'strategic signing'.

The 27-year-old was subject to abuse from some sections of the Parc des Princes crowd on his first appearance of the season over the weekend, during which he scored a remarkable injury-time overhead kick winner.