One of Real Madrid’s key players, Federico Valverde, will be looking to lead Los Blancos to their third Champions League championship this year.
Since joining the Spanish powerhouses as a teenager after making his debut at Penarol in his home Uruguay, the 26-year-old has accomplished a great deal in a very brief career. However, everything might have turned out quite differently.
The now 26-year-old, who grew up in a family of “hustlers,” as Valverde likes to refer to them, talked about his early years in a 2023 sit-down interview with The Players’ Tribune. He briefly mentioned how, as a youngster, he had a trial with Premier League powerhouse Arsenal, but felt like a “hostage” during that time and ultimately made the decision to return to South America.
Ironically, the Gunners are currently preventing Valverde from leading Real Madrid to consecutive Champions League wins. In the first leg of the quarterfinals, Arsenal hosts the defending European champions; the next week, they go to the Bernabeu for the second leg.
Real Madrid has a crucial few weeks ahead of them as they trail Barcelona by four points in La Liga, are scheduled to play in the Copa del Rey final in April, and must defeat one of the strongest defences in Europe to retain their Champions League title.
As one of Real Madrid’s most useful and adaptable players, Valverde will be a key player. However, if circumstances had turned out differently, he might have been playing for the opposition in this month’s quarterfinal match.
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It Wasn’t an Easy Start
Early in life, Valverde had to endure adversity.
Even at the grassroots level, Valverde experienced the wrath of playing football in his younger years. He acknowledged that he was humiliated by the idea of his colleagues visiting his home because his family only had access to the three free-to-air TV channels.
That, together with the fact that he made a bed out of a mattress on the floor in a shadowed corner of a pitch-black room with springs that would trap him until he had to ask for help to get out, and that he heard cockroaches scuttling around the room in the middle of the night, creates the impression of a horror film.
However, he would use those feelings about his home situation as motivation when he took the field, ultimately hoping to make a lasting difference in his family’s fortunes.
However, becoming a professional also altered Valverde’s demeanour, as is frequently the case when going through a major life transition. He even acknowledged that he felt like he “was a God” after signing his first professional contract.
Several elite European clubs, including Arsenal, expressed interest in Valverde before he moved to Real Madrid from Uruguayan team Peñarol, which was situated in his hometown of Montevideo.
“I felt like a god when I started working professionally with Peñarol at the age of sixteen. People probably don’t realise how insane it is to go from being a complete stranger to being a regular person in your city and then suddenly having men want to take selfies with you. Girls who wouldn’t have even looked at you a week ago are DMing you. Everyone aspires to be friends with you. It’s impossible to stay on course, even if you have wonderful parents like mine.
Potential Outcomes
At 16, Valverde tried out for Arsenal, but he didn’t feel at home in England.
It is well known that Valverde was tried at Arsenal at the age of sixteen. Even though the club was well-known and had a long history, North London was very different from his Uruguayan upbringing, and he never truly wanted to be in England.
His justification for this has less to do with the Gunners than it does with external pressure from the business side of professional sports, as people close to him try to imagine what life might be like for him if he were to take the more than fifteen-hour flight to the UK to launch his career. According to Valverde, he felt like a “hostage” at that time in his life since some people attempted to coerce him into making decisions that would benefit his finances regardless of how he felt.
Football’s business side took over. I heard some people say, “Who wouldn’t want to go play for Arsenal?” Do you wish to remain in Uruguay? That is insane! In reality, they were whispering to each other, “If you go, we can all make a lot of money.”
In football, you come to understand that your life is not your own. You feel more like a hostage, especially when you’re young. Your family is taken hostage as well. The vultures are aware that football, particularly for those of us in South America, is a means of escape to a better life. In a ‘kind’ way, they put pressure on you. You’ll have a comfortable bed and a shower that stays warm for thirty to forty minutes if you travel to Arsenal, Fede! Who wouldn’t desire such a life?
Ultimately, it only took him a week to come to the conclusion that he would miss his family too much to play for the team. But then Real Madrid called and offered to move his family as well. This meeting would ultimately mark the start of young Fede’s lifetime desire, and no one could have predicted how it would change the course of his career and his entire life.
“I simply wasn’t at ease when they sent me to London for a week of testing. It sounds fantastic if you only consider tangible things. We are not, however, robots. In actuality, my family was unable to accompany me to London. At sixteen, I would have to live alone and not speak the language. You don’t see the 100 kids who fail to move abroad for every one that does. I was brave enough or insane enough to refuse. For as long as I can remain with my family, please give me freezing showers.
Transfer to Madrid and Success in the 2023–2024 Season Valverde received his first nomination on the Ballon d’Or shortlist of 30 men.
Valverde would describe the day he was given the opportunity to relocate to Madrid in 2016 as “perfect,” and he hasn’t turned back since.
“My life’s first great day was that one. because I could see my parents’ excitement. My dad is a rock, but my mum cries for anything. I noticed a tiny crack, but it takes a lot for him to display emotion! Haha. You know, I saw the spark in his eyes.
“My son is a Real Madrid player.” You cannot possibly place any value on that sentence. I felt completely elated. For several months. Then, as it always does, life reminded me to be modest.
After starting with Real Madrid Castilla, he had to prove himself before he could be promoted to the first squad. After a few months, he established himself as a mainstay for the team and was loaned to Deportivo La Coruna for the 2017–18 campaign.
He made his official debut for Los Blancos in the UEFA Champions League group stages against Viktoria Plzen at the Bernabeu after returning, impressing so much throughout the 2018–19 preseason that it was obvious he should be promoted to the first team.
However, Valverde really started to shine under the most intense scrutiny during the 2023–24 campaign.
Federico Valverde’s Season Statistics for 2023–24
Games Played
54
Objectives
3.
Helps
8.
Passes that are progressive
231
Carries That Are Progressive
104
Received Progressive Passes
102
Valverde had one of his best seasons as a professional, playing in 54 games across all competitions. He recorded three goals and eight assists, primarily from central midfield, but he also showed his versatility by playing as a right midfielder, right winger, and even a defensive midfielder.
He played a major role in Madrid’s numerous team accomplishments, which included winning the Spanish League Cup, the UEFA Champions League (Valverde’s second UCL trophy of his career), and La Liga, when they defeated Barcelona by ten points. In addition to winning the UEFA Super Cup before this season, they concluded a memorable 2023–24 season for the Uruguayan, who signed a contract extension to remain with the team until 2029.
However, Valverde’s achievements went much further, as he was nominated for the Ballon d’Or, the greatest footballing individual award of all time, on the 30-man shortlist.
Valverde is a significant player for Carlo Ancelotti as of 2024–25.
This season, Valverde’s impact at Real Madrid has been characterised by his adaptability. He has played in deeper positions, such as defensive midfield and even right-back, but he has been somewhat less active in goal generation and scoring than in prior seasons.
With twelve appearances and three assists so far this season, the South American has missed just 21 minutes of Real Madrid’s Champions League campaign and is expected to start against Arsenal.
While Valverde himself can contribute significantly in attack, his work ethic is essential in counterbalancing out more showy players like Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe.
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