Real Madrid center midfielder Fede Valverde recently signed a new contract extension with Los Merengues that confirms something we have known since the 2019-2020 season when he broke out as an important part of Zinedine Zidane’s rotation. Valverde is unsellable to Madrid. If any team wanted to steal him away from Real, they would have to activate a release clause worth one billion euros, equal to that of club legend and all-time great striker Karim Benzema.
So, yeah, Fede Valverde is pretty damn important to Real Madrid. Let’s take a look at three things that make El Pajarito so untouchable to Los Blancos.
Fede Valverde leaves everything on the pitch for Real Madrid
It is obvious that Fede Valverde loves Real Madrid and thinks of nothing else but Real Madrid. It’s why he signed such an extension and has never wavered in his public statements of support for the club. He has played through immense pain for this team and at any position asked of him with the utmost zeal. Look no further than his gusty second leg performance at Anfield in the 2020-2021 Champions League quarterfinals.
Valverde has an endless supply of energy and is instrumental in how much ground he covers at both ends of the pitch. Recently, he starred for the Uruguayan national team, then two days later for Real in their return to the Santiago Bernabeu, and then a few days after that against Inter Milan in the Champions League. He had the “hockey assist” for the winning goal, by the way, finding Eduardo Camavinga on that brilliant run.
We can only sit in awe at what Valverde does for this club and the lengths he is willing to go to win. He relishes the big rivalry games, most of all. Remember his sacrificial red card in the Supercup against Atletico Madrid? Diego Simeone could only admire the young man’s heart.
Fede Valverde is the ideal box-to-box midfielder
At just the age of 23, Fede Valverde is an important part of a Real Madrid midfield that still boasts one of the all-time great trios in Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro. That he could find a place within this group as a 21-year-old two seasons ago and impress Zinedine Zidane is a restatement to not only his quality, but also his maturity.
Valverde is rated as one of the most valuable center midfielders in the world, and it’s easy to see why. He is massive on the defensive end with his speed, physicality, and stamina. Valverde is a ball-winning machine both in the middle of the park and on the flank, where he often pushes out wide and up to supply a supporting attacking outlet that enables the forwards to pinch in.
So far in the 2021-22 LaLiga campaign, Fede is Real Madrid’s leader in progressive distance carried with the ball and carries into the final third. That very same work that makes him so adored defensively is ever-present offensively, and it needs to be recognized. Fede is an absolute monster in transition, creating chances with his speed. He can glide or bulldoze past defenders, such is his athletic talent.
Valverde does it all in the middle of the park. If you were to look up the prototype of a box-to-box wide midfielder or No. 8, you would find a description that perfectly suits the Uruguayan youngster.
His attacking upside cannot be ignored
Although Fede Valverde’s 2020-2021 campaign was somewhat derailed by injury, he did make an impression in his second season as a regular Real Madrid player. The center midfielder was especially impressive at the beginning of the season from a goal-scoring perspective, as he showed some downright scary finishing in front of goal, turning half-chances into slam-dunks for a Real side in desperate need of secondary scoring options around Karim Benzema.
Fede scored three goals from Sept. 26 to Oct. 31, finishing off the month of October with a goal and assist against Huesca. He could not continue to build on those performances, but his recent excellent free kick goal for the Uruguay national team is another sign of that burgeoning quality in the final third.
We talk a lot about Fede’s heart, defensive contributions, and athleticism. His ball-carrying is starting to get praised, and he has a pass completion percentage of 90.5 thus far in LaLiga, per WhoScored.com. But amidst all of that, we can easily overlook his technical quality, which is exquisite at times, even if it is not 100 percent polished yet.
At 23, Valverde is still a handful of years away from entering his peak of technical excellence in midfield. That means he is just scratching the surface offensively. We have seen some of those scratches manifest themselves in goals, assists, and pre-assists. There will be more to come from the midfielder, including in 2021-2022.