Raphael Varane became one of the best centre-backs in world football at Real Madrid between 2011 and 2021 after being signed by Jose Mourinho, but he has revealed they had a tense relationship at the start of his spell
Former Real Madrid star Raphael Varane has revealed how his old manager Jose Mourinho once angered him during their time at the Bernabeu after brutally branding him “useless”. Varane was signed by “The Special One” as a teenager in 2011 and played under him for two seasons.
The former Manchester United defender took some time to develop in the Spanish capital and struggled for game time initially – before becoming a mainstay in the team and one of the best centre-backs in the world during a decade-long spell at the club.
His best performances for Madrid came under Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, but Varane recalls a time when Mourinho gave him some tough love at the start of his career at the Bernabeu after he produced some under-par displays at the start of the 2012-13 campaign.
Varane said he was “shocked” and irritated after being slammed by the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss during a conversation in the gym.
“One day, at the beginning of the season, he called me,” Varane said on the The Bridge podcast. “The team hadn’t started well, and I remember it clearly — we were in the gym. He looked at me and said: ‘But why are you useless?’ I was shocked and annoyed. I told him it wasn’t easy because I wasn’t playing, and the start of the season had been difficult.”
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But he said Mourinho’s brutal approach ended up bringing out the best in him as he was given a chance to start over Sergio Ramos against Manchester City in a Champions League group game, before becoming first choice and suddenly his career started to blossom.
“He then asked me if I was ready to play the following Wednesday,” Varane continued. “It was against Manchester City , and I started ahead of Sergio Ramos. If I made a mistake, it was all over. I would have likely been loaned out.
“After that game, I recovered, and the season started again as planned. The second half of that season was the best half of my career. Mourinho brought out the best in me.”
Varane ended up playing 360 times for Madrid, putting in some colossal performances in defence that helped the team win three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, four Champions League titles, three Spanish Super Cups, three UEFA Super Cups and four FIFA Club World Cups.
Eventually he left Madrid and joined Manchester United for around £40m in 2021, though he struggled to reproduce his best performances at Old Trafford and battled with constant injuries.
He also clashed with another manager at United as he failed to see eye to eye with Erik ten Hag, who was sacked in October. In 2023, Varane was dropped by the Dutchman for a number of months, which the manager said was for “tactical” reasons. But Varane revealed they fell out after he told him he didn’t agree with his methods.
“We had a robust discussion. We told each other some truths but then I didn’t play again for almost two months. I said I didn’t agree with certain ways of doing things regarding the relationship between him and the team. It wasn’t something that I thought was good for the team because some players weren’t satisfied.
“It was not good in terms of the relationship with the coach. He said, ‘OK I heard what you said’, and after that I didn’t play.”
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