French former professional footballer Raphaël Varane has shared an intriguing revelation about his relationship with football manager José Mourinho, recounting a moment when Mourinho labeled him as ‘useless’ during their time together at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Varane transferred from Lens to Real Madrid in the summer of 2011, coinciding with Mourinho’s second season at the club.
Speaking candidly about Mourinho in an interview with The Bridge, Varane said:
“When I arrived, he [Mourinho] told me: ‘I only want one thing—that for an hour and a half every day, you give everything. The rest, don’t worry, you will progress, I will take care of it, relax.’”
“In my first season, I must have played about fifteen matches in total, but only in games where we had already qualified or in cup matches. He made me progress little by little and didn’t throw me in at the deep end. I had a good first season, but now more was expected of me. So I overplayed a bit, and I was not comfortable—I wasn’t feeling well.”
“He’s someone I really respect. He is charismatic, and he said to me straight out, ‘But why are you useless?’ I looked at him, stunned, because he had actually just stung me. I told him it wasn’t easy because I wasn’t playing much and that it had been a complicated start to the season.”
Raphaël Varane enjoyed significant success during his decade at Real Madrid, securing 18 trophies before joining Manchester United in a £42 million transfer in 2021.
