Real Madrid star center midfielder Fede Valverde had some great performances on the pitch last season, including a dream hat trick against Manchester City in the Champions League Round of 16, but the 2025/26 season, overall, was a season for him to forget personally and one of his worst in a Royal White kit.
Valverde disappointed a lot of Madridistas with his behavior throughout the season. First, there was the sulking and whining about not wanting to play right back, showing insubordination to Xabi Alonso, who lost his job mere months later. For a guy who would pride himself on giving his all to the club, Valverde came off very selfish.
And as a new captain, Madridistas saw Fede as such a failure that they agreed with the calls for him to be stripped of the captaincy, even though they suspected the calls came from leaks by either Kylian Mbappe or Aurelien Tchouameni to the media. Despite getting decked and sent to the hospital with a concussion by Tchou, Valverde did not come off sympathetic in the story either and may have even been the aggressor. This is the same guy who once punched out an opponent, Alex Baena, in the parking lot.
Fede Valverde might be undermining another great coach
Well, Real Madrid fans are having to deal with another Fede Valverde controversy this summer again, too, except this time he may be trying to play "coach killer" with the legendary Marcelo Bielsa. Like Xabi Alonso, Bielsa can be a bit demanding and abrasive to players, but it is a troubling sign that Valverde is involved in another controversy like this as a team leader.
According to a report from El Espectador Deportes in Uruguay, via the Madrid Zone, there is serious tension in the Uruguay camp at the 2026 World Cup. Fede is one of a few player who have openly complained to Bielsa that his tactics and training methods are too intense. They are making tactical demands about wanting to play in low blocks and counter against bigger teams like Spain, and they are accusing Bielsa's coaching methods of leading to injuries.
Real Madrid fans, regardless of how Marcelo Bielsa acts or his own failings, can't help but see the parallels between how Valverde was with Alonso and this story now. Jose Mourinho and the fans themselves will be side eyeing Fede when he comes back to Madrid if Uruguay collapse and more details come back, because Fede is developing a reputation as someone who does not want to work hard and does not put his money where his mouth is to unite a team as a leader - and that is not something he wants to be staining his record.
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