Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has vowed that the club "will come back stronger" following Saturday's heartbreaking 2-1 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City at Wembley.
Goals from Ilkay Gundogan either side of a Bruno Fernandes penalty were enough to clinch a second trophy of the season for City and keep their treble hopes alive. United found themselves behind after just 13 seconds before Fernandes levelled proceedings just past the half hour mark.
Gundogan, however, bagged his second of the game shortly after half-time, crashing home an effort from the edge of the penalty area that proved decisive. United rallied in the latter stages of the contest in the hope of forcing the game to extra-time but their efforts were to no avail.
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But despite the disappointment that came with the defeat to Pep Guardiola's side, United can look back on this season with the knowledge that they made significant progress in their first campaign under Erik ten Hag. After ending their six-year wait for a trophy back in February, winning the Carabao Cup, they wrapped up a top four finish and secured Champions League qualification last month.
And it is because of those achievements that Varane most probably felt "proud" of his teammates' efforts this season.
"Failure is the foundation of success," said Varane, posting on his Instagram page. "Proud of this team and this club.
"For your support all season, thank you!! We will come back stronger."
United, who have ambitions to strengthen their armoury during the summer transfer window, plan to kick-on next season and continue to make progress under Ten Hag, who won 42 of his first 62 matches in charge this term. The Dutchman, overall, oversaw a brilliant job and proved that he is the right man for the job.
On a personal level, Varane, who joined United from Real Madrid almost two years ago, ended the campaign having made 34 appearances in all competitions. That was an increase of five following last season's injury-ravaged campaign.
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