Real Madrid tie down Marco Asensio and Raphael Varane to long-term deals

The pair make it five first-teamers with new contracts this summer

The young forward is predicted to be a future Ballon d'Or winner (Getty)

Real Madrid tied down two of their young stars to new, long-term deals on Thursday as they look to keep together the core of a side that became the first back-to-back Champions League winners.

Marco Asensio, considered a player who will one day be in Ballon d’Or contention, has signed on for six more years at the Bernabeu after dazzling in his first full season as a senior player there. His release clause is reportedly €500m (£438m).

Asensio, who signed from Mallorca for €3.9m in 2014, spent a season on loan at Espanyol in 2015/16 before graduating to the first team last year with spectacular results.

Raphael Varane joined Asensio in committing his future to the club.

The French defender has turned down Manchester United twice since signing from Le Havre after a pep talk from Zinedine Zidane. With Zidane now the manager in Madrid, Varane didn’t hesitate in extending his stay in the Spanish capital.

Varane signs until 2022, joining Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Isco as first-teamers to have recently committed their future to the European champions.