Real Madrid Brother and agent analysed defender's progression

As Raphael Varane approaches his 200th game for the club, his brother Anthony has made clear the milestone is a proud moment for the defender.

At 24 years old, his path to becoming the first choice central defender at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu has been a challenging one, especially when a freak knee injury related to his growth kept him out for eight months.

"This milestone is huge for Raphael, it is an incredibly proud moment," he explained in an interview with MARCA.

Life in the Spanish capital has been little short of a whirlwind for the French international and he is the youngest defender since Paolo Maldini to win three European Cups, even surpassing the Italian legend in this regard.

He is still to enter his prime years and has already achieved more than most players, both in terms of trophies and individual appearances at such a reputable club.

It is easy to see why Real Madrid recruited the young defender, moving ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger in the pursuit of the Lens academy graduate.

The transfer could have quite easily been delayed through Varane's commitment to his academic studies too.

As Los Blancos pursued him, a phone-call from Zidane himself was not enough to take the defender's attention as he requested the former Juventus midfield call him back once he has finished studying.

"I told him, he was crazy to have hung up on Zidane," his brother and agent recalls.

Eventually the transfer went through and it was Jose Mourinho who gave the defender his senior debut with the club.

In just his second match he scored against Rayo Vallecano.

Success with the defending European champions has come as no surprise to the elder of the brothers and the environment has perfectly suited Raphael's personality.

"He has always been a winner," he admitted.

"Ever since we were small he was always competitive.

"In a certain way he has found an environment in Madrid that suits him in this way."

Whilst the knee troubles plagued his progress at the Santiago Bernabeu, physical development has been a large part of the Frenchman's ability to become a regular and there is no sign he is near done yet.

"At first he wasn't the strongest, but he likes to train," Anthony confirmed.

"He knows his qualities: speed, anticipation and his aerial game, but he always wanted to improve."

"He has to keep his feet on the ground, time will tell how far his career can go."