Varane: As a child I was told I was too nice to succeed Real Madrid He's won it all

Raphael Varane was told as a child that he didn't have the right attitude to succeed in football due to him being too nice.

The Frenchman has since gone on to win a World Cup and everything on offer with Real Madrid, but it wasn't always clear that he'd make it to the top.

"There are some kids you see and know they'll succeed," Varane told Onze Mondial, "but that wasn't the case for me.

"When I was little, I was told that I didn't have the right mentality to succeed because I was kind; I wasn't bad enough.

"Other kids at my school went to fight, but I was kind and principled."

Both of his parents played equally important but different roles in his development, which was helped by their backgrounds.

"My father was a very demanding coach," Varane added.

"He imposed rules and a structure.

"My mother was always on top of my studies. She's a teacher, so she's always been very serious about that."

France made it to the European Championship final in 2016 on home soil but Varane missed out on the tournament, which he says is one of the toughest things he's endured.

"Missing the 2016 Champions League final and European Championship with injury," he responded when asked about the hardest point of his career.

"I had been preparing for the Euros for two years.

"During that time, it became an obsession because a Euros in your country won't happen more than once. It's a scar."