“Mourinho asked me ‘Why are you useless?'" France legend Varane reflects on Mourinho’s guidance at Real Madrid | OneFootball

France and Real Madrid legend Raphaël Varane has been speaking about his experience working under José Mourinho at the Santiago Bernabeu as a young player.

Varane, who retired earlier this season after injury problems, sat down alongside another former Mourinho charge, Lassana Diarra, on a French show co-hosted by current Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni. Mourinho was a particular subject of conversation, with both ex-players praising the Portuguese’s approach.

Varane joined Madrid at the age of 18 from Lens as a highly-rated but scarcely-known defender added to ranks which included the likes of Sergio Ramos and Portugal great Pepe. Over the course of ten years in the Spanish capital, Varane established himself as one of the most successful players of his generation.

The first two seasons came under Mourinho, who had been in charge for one year when Varane arrived. Speaking on an episode of “The Bridge” on ESN, Varane told Tchouaméni and Diarra that Mourinho had tested his resolve with an extreme but direct method of man management ahead of his second term with Los Merengues.

“I can only be grateful to him, because if it’s Zizou [Zinédine Zidane] who called me, he’s the one who comes to pick me up,” Varane recalled. “When I arrived, he said: ‘I only want one thing: for you to give everything for an hour and a half every day. Outside that, don’t worry, you’ll get better, I’ll take care of that. Relax.’

“In my first season, I played 15 games in total, but they were cup games and games where we’d already qualified. That helped me progress little by little and didn’t throw me straight into the pool.

“The second season, things got off on the wrong foot. I got my first call up for the France national team. I put myself under pressure. I had a good first season, now I need to confirm it. Now they expected more of me. So I overdid it, I didn’t feel at ease, I didn’t feel comfortable..

“The team hadn’t started very well. He called me and I remember it well, it was in the gym. He’s someone I respect a lot, because he’s charismatic and he said to me straight out: ‘But why are you useless [why do you suck?]’ I looked at him and I was a bit taken aback, because it really stung me. I told him it wasn’t easy because I wasn’t playing and that it was a difficult start to the season. I tried to explain but it was hard, he hit me where it hurts. Then asked me ‘if you play on Wednesday, will you be ready?’

“If I mess up – it’s over”

“And that was a big Champions League match. If we lost that one we’d be halfway out. It was against Manchester City at home. I played along and answered “yes, of course” but I wasn’t ready, physically or mentally. I said ‘sure, all good – I’m ready.’ So he says okay and leaves.

“In training, I went all out. Even the next day on the eve of the match, I saw I had made it into the team. I saw Ramos was on the bench. I was 19 years old and I thought: I’m in Spain, I’m 19, I’m not 100% and I’m starting in the Champions League. If I mess up, it’s over – I’m done. No future for me, nothing. In the end they’ll loan me out, it’ll be over.

“I played the game, I had cramps all over, but I had a good performance. I continued to play. In the second half of the season, I had the best half of my career. He had gotten me back into the swing of things. This is a coach who spurred me on. He brought out the best in me.”

Mourinho has a big heart - Diarra

Lassana Diarra, who played under Mourinho both at Chelsea and Real Madrid, said his relationship with the ex-Porto boss was more of a “love-hate relationship” but admits the Portuguese’s method helped him tremendously from a mental point of view.

“I’m grateful to him. I’m a little bit like him. He had some issues, conflicts. Nowadays coaches are soft.

“He took some liberties with me. But another thing is he’s the only coach with whom I have had incredible conversations. In a good way. Coaches like Mourinho who say “you suck” don’t exist anymore.

“I was playing in the first team [at Chelsea] but there was Makelele, Lampard, Ballack…and I needed to play a bit. He’s the kind of guy who when you go to speak to him will say “you think you can take Ballack’s place?” Sometimes we players put on a show. But your coach makes you face responsibilities. 'So you want to play? You want to play ahead of Makelele?' Maybe yes, maybe no. You’re not sure.

“He would often put us in such situations to try to get the best out of us, but it all depends on a player’s character. Either it makes them crash, as some people do, or it helps them progress. He helped me make huge progress psychologically.

“He’s mellowed now. Today if a coach puts a young player under pressure, right away he gets a call from the agent. It wasn’t like that before.

“But there’s something few people know and that is he’s got a big heart. If you have a real problem, you can go to Mourinho, serious life problems. He’s really there for you. You can tell him your personal problems and he will understand.

Varane concurred, adding: “On the field you have to be a soldier, but humanly speaking he’s there for you.”