Former France World Cup winner Bixente Lizarazu has hailed the progress of Raphael Varane at Real Madrid this season.

Varane has been one of the big revelations in Europe since the turn of the year.

"We are talking about a kid at Real Madrid who has unseated Pepe and Pepe, with all his stuff, is still a great centre-half. His performance against Manchester United was extraordinary. And against Barcelona.

"He's unique. Madrid with him and Sergio Ramos may have a couple of defenders for many years.

"For me, Ramos and Thiago Silva are the two best central defenders in the world."