TA: Valverde never quarreled with Alonso/required to play, everything was made out of nothing

Hupu October 2nd News TheAthleticUK Real Madrid team wrote a Valverde column.

[Must Board] Valverde: It's sad that the outside world said that I refused to play, and I never complained that I had an injury. In the past two seasons, Valverde has been the player with the most games in Real Madrid. In the 2023-24 season and last season, Valverde played 54 times, 4280 minutes and 65 times respectively, with a total of 5556 minutes.

Team sources—like everyone quoted in this article, they requested anonymity to protect the relationship—called the 27-year-old Uruguay international, who was introverted in the locker room but was one of the team’s leaders.

He played a key role in Real Madrid's last two Champions League finals, and it is memorable that he assisted Vinicius to score the only goal in the game against Liverpool in Paris three years ago.

Under former head coach Carlo Ancelotti, Valverde played an important role, and Ancelotti often used his versatility. Valverde is good at midfield positions, but he has played right winger, right back and right midfield under the Italians.

In November last year, Valverde's wife, journalist Mina Bonino, responded to the remarks of a fan. The fan hinted that Ancelotti replaced Valverde for technical reasons during the break of the Champions League loss to AC Milan.

She wrote: "Brother, Feder is best for playing defensive midfielder. What are you talking nonsense? When will you fully understand that Feder is not a winger?"

This season, Valverde continued to play an important role under the leadership of Xavi Alonso, and despite being placed in a position where he is better at, he doesn't seem to be fully adaptable. In Alonso's new high-pressure system, he is not as good as Joan Améni, who is a midfielder.

In the first Champions League match between Real Madrid and Marseille last month, new right back Arnold suffered a hamstring injury. Valverde made it clear after the game that he didn't want to be treated as a temporary right back again as the club fears the former Liverpool player will be out for eight weeks.

"I talked to the coach a lot and he knew what he really wanted, but in the end, I thought I should get more opportunities in my position," he said. "I'm very happy in the midfield." A few hours later, a staff member told TheAthletic that they would be surprised if Valverde returned to the right-back position after talking about the remarks.

He started as a defensive midfielder in the next week of La Liga, and the team eventually defeated Levante 4-1, but in Alonso's system, he was sometimes placed at the right wingback.

Then, on Saturday, Carvajal suffered a muscle injury while serving as right-back in a 2-5 derby defeat at Atletico Madrid, which once again sparked debate over who Alonso should replace the position. Carvajal will face a five-week injury, so there are still questions about whether he can participate in the Spanish national derby against Barcelona at home on October 26.

Kawajal's news came after Valverde's poor midfield performance that night. His pass was too slow, causing Antoine Griezmann to score in stoppage time, which was the first five-goal victory over the city's archenemy since 1950.

Valverde's cronies said they were surprised by Valverde's absence from a 5-0 victory over Keirat and the controversy caused by his sideline behavior, as planned, he will take a rest against Keirat. They added that Valverde refused to warm up that night was not true.

These sources were also angry because they believed that there was a misunderstanding of the Uruguayan star's character and his attitude.

They said Valverde never quarreled with Alonso, nor asked his coach to let him play a certain position, and he has performed well for nearly a decade after his transfer from his native Uruguayan team, Penarro, to Real Madrid, but now he is opposed by people, and they are dissatisfied with this.

club sources said Valverde would not take action without Alonso's consent in advance, and they were also unwilling to be involved in the controversy. To avoid any doubts, Valverde himself also posted a clarification through social media.

While this will temporarily calm the controversy, Valverde's role will remain a puzzling topic in Alonso's new lineup.