Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane has admitted that former boss Jose Mourinho once gave him a "kick up the backside" because the star wasn' giving his all.
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Mourinho gave Varane his debut at the Bernabeu at 2011 when he was just 18, and he went on to become a regular in the Portuguese tactician's match-day XI, even starting ahead of Pepe during Mourinho's final season in charge of the club.
The Frenchman admitted the current Chelsea boss knew how to get the best out of him at Real.
"During my second year at Madrid, Jose Mourinho gave me a kick up the backside," he told Le Journal du Dimanche.
"I wasn't doing well, I wasn't managing to do what he wanted me to out on the pitch.
"So he chided me, saying: 'Why don't you run in training?' My first reaction was to mutter, 'Oh come on... ' But I knew he was right, I had more to give."
Varane also said the Portuguese's man-management style was the best he has ever seen.
"Mourinho doesn't need to give long speeches," he added.
"He's direct and to the point. What he said to me was for my own good. Without regular pressure like that, I can tend to rest on my laurels."
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The 22-year-old has made 119 appearances for Los Blancos, scoring six goals along the way.
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