Background and career
Federico Santiago Valverde Dipetta (Spanish pronunciation: [feðeˈɾiko βalˈβeɾðe]; born 22 July 1998) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid, which he captains, and the Uruguay national team. Considered one of the best midfielders in the world, he is known for his versatility, work rate, pace and vigorous shooting. Valverde mainly plays as a central midfielder but can also be deployed as a right-back. Valverde began his professional career with Peñarol in 2015, winning the Uruguayan Primera División in his first season. In 2016, he joined Real Madrid, initially playing for the club's reserve team. He made his first-team debut in 2017 and has since gone on to make over 300 appearances for the club, winning three La Liga titles, two FIFA Club World Cups, two UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and the Copa del Rey. A former youth international across various levels, Valverde made his senior international debut for Uruguay in 2017, and has since represented his country at three Copa América tournaments (2019, 2021, 2024) and two FIFA World Cups (2022, 2026).
Valverde was born on 22 July 1998 in Unión, a neighbourhood in the capital city of Montevideo, to Julio Valverde and Doris Dipetta. He has one older brother, Diego, and two step-brothers, Pablo and Matías Castro. Valverde is of Spanish and Italian descent and became a naturalised Spanish citizen in 2020 after receiving his Spanish passport. Valverde started his youth career with his local neighbourhood club, Estudiantes de la Unión. He then tried out for Peñarol a few years later and was scouted by Néstor Gonçalves.
Valverde spent most of his youth career with Peñarol, where he quickly made an impression. He made his club debut on 23 July, one day after his 17th birthday, in an international friendly against Cruzeiro which they won 3–1. He later made his senior debut for the club on 16 August 2015 in their first fixture of the 2015–16 season against Cerro, during which he was guided and mentored by his childhood idol and teammate, Diego Forlán. He became part of the Uruguayan national youth teams and attracted the interest of European clubs, including Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and Real Madrid.
In July 2016, Valverde was transferred from Peñarol to Real Madrid, initially being assigned to their reserve team Castilla. Two months later, he made his debut for Castilla against Real Unión, in a game which his team eventually lost. He became a regular member of the Castilla line-up his debut season, and scored his first goal against Albacete in December 2016. In regards to his growing importance to the team, Santiago Solari, his coach at Castilla, said on 29 January 2017, "I'm very happy with him. He has adapted very well to the club and country. Valverde always generates a lot of football in midfield."
On 22 June 2017, Valverde was loaned to La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña for one year. He made his debut in the competition on 10 September, replacing Fede Cartabia in a 2–4 home loss against Real Sociedad. Valverde contributed with 24 league appearances during the campaign, as the side suffered relegation.
Upon returning from loan, Valverde impressed new manager Julen Lopetegui during the 2018–19 pre-season and was definitively assigned to the first-team. On 23 October 2018, Valverde made his official Real Madrid debut in the UEFA Champions League Group stage against Viktoria Plzeň at the Bernabéu at just 20 years old. He made 25 appearances and won the FIFA Club World Cup in his first season with the first team.
