Chelsea Boss Jose Mourinho Gives Up Hope of Signing Raphael Varane From Real Madrid

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed his interest in Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane but admits he stands no chance of signing the France international.

The 21-year-old signed a new long-term contract in September which will keep him at the Bernabeu until 2020, snubbing interest from across the continent.

Mourinho was instrumental in bringing Varane to Real in 2011 while manager in Spain but the Portuguese boss admits his hopes of luring the player to Chelsea are futile.

"I Like Varane, but everybody knows that he will stay at Real Madrid," the Chelsea chief told Telefoot.

"France has a lot of good players like Varane, Pogba, Benzema, and Lloris. They can win Euro 2016. I have a lot of respect for Deschamps. In the World Cup, we saw a great French team."

In March, Mourinho said of the ex-Lens defender: "I think he is the best young central defender in the world. Already I think he's the best.

"A young player must be somebody who plays in the World Cup for the first time. These are players like Hazard, Neymar and Rafa Varane. Maybe I forget some others."

Varane was highly praised for his performance in France's 2-1 win over Portugal in Paris on Friday while marking teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who failed to get on the scoresheet before being substituted with knee trouble.

Goals from Karim Benzema and Paul Pogba secured victory for Didier Deschamps' side at the Stade de France, despite Ricardo Quaresma's late penalty.

The player is likely to feature in France's second friendly of the international break against Armenia on Tuesday before re-joining his club for the resumption of the La Liga season.

Mourinho has always been partial to signing some of the best young players from Europe, with France Under-21 centre-back Kurt Zouma the latest rising star to join Chelsea following his permanent move from St Etienne.