Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says defender Raphael Varane is likely to go on and captain the club one day.
The 22-year-old has been at the 10-time Champions League winners since 2011 having signed from Lens. The early part of his Los Blancos career was blighted by injury but he has gone on to establish himself as an important player in the squad.
Last season his finally competed regularly for a place in the side managing to dislodge the long-establish partnership between Pepe and Sergio Ramos at the heart of the defence. This season, Varane has made 15 appearances in La Liga.
Speaking to France Football, Perez said the Frenchman has all it takes to become captain as he has excellent leadership qualities.
He stated: “I am convinced that Varane will one day be captain of Real Madrid. He is adored by the fans. Not only is he is a great player, he is also a great person.”
The president also took time to discuss his other French star in the squad – Karim Benzema – and says the striker is unlucky to have been caught up in the blackmail scandal against international team mate Matieu Valbuena.
Having known him for many year, Perez says Benzema is not a nasty person and was likely to have wanted to only help the Lyon midfielder.
“We have supported him [Benzema] and we will always support him. Having spoken to him, I’m sure that it is impossible to think that he did something bad. He is a good lad and I am absolutely convinced that, above all, his intention was to help his friend Mathieu Valbuena.”
