Fede Valverde is one of the most beloved players at Real Madrid and was central to both of the Champions League titles in the 2020s, breaking out under Zinedine Zidane in the 2019/20 season to replace James Rodriguez before truly blossoming in the clutch matches of the 2021/22 Champions League knockout stages as an engine on the right side of the midfield - or even at right back and on the right wing when needed.
So it was jarring to see the captaincy get to Fede's head last season. After a disappointing 2024/25 season in which he and Real Madrid failed to win any titles, Valverde followed that up with an even worse 2025/26 season, especially in terms of his leadership.
Fede made a lot of headlines for the wrong reasons. Not only was the clash with Aurelien Tchouameni at the end of the season a personal embarrassment and a low point for the entire Real Madrid team as they floundered in the table against FC Barcelona once more, but Fede also squabbled with Xabi Alonso and threw tantrums over playing right back. Yes, what a wonderful captain.
Fede Valverde is under the microscope
Jose Mourinho is not going to punish Fede Valverde by stripping the captaincy from him, which is the right move, but after a terrible World Cup in which Fede embarrassed the Uruguayan national team, too, with his performances as they crashed out of an easy group and even played a role in Marcelo Bielsa's implosion, the microscope is firmly on Valverde.
If there is one thing Mourinho does not stand for, it is players who do not try their fullest and throw tantrums. Fede started to become that person last season, even though he was literally the opposite and ran himself into the ground for the club for years under Carlo Ancelotti and especially Zinedine Zidane.
Mourinho is hoping he can get that Fede back out of him and back on track into being a true world class center midfielder, as opposed to the version of Valverde that looked like a petulant child last season. But there will be competition for minutes in midfield after the signing of Bernardo Siva, whom Jose absolutely loves, in that box to box role, so Fede is going to have to be OK with rotating and with going back to doing a lot of dirty work under Mourinho. Real Madrid fans are about to see if he is full Madridista this season or just full of it all along.
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