“This boy is no longer a child. He is already a man who thinks like an adult. Raphael is from a fantastic family. Today many players don’t have the support of their relatives, but in Varane’s case it’s all the way around. This is the first time I stress the role of the family. We were interested in Varane two years ago. I was not very familiar with him, but Zidane offered to consider his candidature. It was summer, so we couldn’t see him in action.We watched the recordings of matches. Based on what I saw and what Zidane told me, I decided to give it a try. Three days later we talked with Raphael, his father and agent, but throughout the whole conversation there was no word about the contract, the money or the duration of the agreement. All questions were related to education, development, opportunities for Raphael’s growth as a professional and about his settlement in Madrid, as his family was going to remain in France.
Usually in such cases we are mainly talking about money, and here everything was completely different. Coming here, Raphael had to say goodbye to his childhood, had to grow up quickly and become a man by his way of thinking, the amount of work, relationships with partners on the team and realize that, despite his talent, he must still continue to learn. I told him I can’t promise 30-40 matches a season, but promised that for me he would be a real alternative, and in two-three years he will become a true champion. Raphael is a fantastic guy, he is open to criticism, he works hard to get better. After training he can stay and work on things that need improving. This distinguishes real professionals.”
— Mourinho on Varane (via simplyrealistic7)
(Source: a-por-la-decimadrid)
