*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:01, 5 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:50, 12 October 2024 (UTC)
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.[9][10][11] Valverde is of Spanishand Italian descent and became a naturalised Spanish citizen in 2020 after receiving his Spanish passport.[12] 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.[13]
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 where they won 3–1. He had then 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.[13][14]
In July 2016, Valverde was transferred from Peñarol to Real Madrid, initially being assigned to their reserve team Castilla.[18] Two months later, he made his debut for Castilla against Real Unión, in a game which his team eventually lost.[19] He became a regular member of the Castilla line-up his debut season, and scored his first goal against Albacete in December 2016.[20]
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."[21]
On 22 June 2017, Valverde was loaned to La Ligaside Deportivo de La Coruña for one year.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24][25]He made 25 appearances and won the FIFA Club World Cup in his first season with the first team.[26]
With the return of Zinedine Zidane to the dugout and the departure of Marcos Llorente, Valverde broke through to become a key player of the squad during the 2019–20 season.[27] On 9 November 2019, he scored his first goal for Real Madrid, in a 4–0 away win over Eibar in La Liga.[28]
On 12 January 2020, Valverde tackled Álvaro Morata during the Supercopa de España Finalagainst Atlético Madrid, committing a professional foul and stopping play with Morata clean through on goal.[29] Valverde was sent off, but his actions stopped what was a likely goal, forced a penalty shootout which Real Madrid won, and earned him the Man of The Match award and widespread praise. Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeonelater referred to the tackle as "the most important play of the game".[30] He made 33 appearances during the league season, as Real Madrid won the 2019–20 La Liga.[31]
On 27 September, Valverde scored Real Madrid's first goal of the 2020–21 season away to Betis in La Liga in an eventual 3–2 win and was selected as the 'King of The Match'.[32] This was also his 50th La Liga match for Los Blancos.[33] One month later on 24 October, Valverde scored against Barcelona at the Camp Nou in just five minutes in an eventual 3–1 league win. He became just the second Uruguayan to score in El Clásico (after Luis Suárez) and the first for Real Madrid.[34] One week later, Valverde scored again, against Huesca, in a 4–1 league win at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium. This was his third goal of the season, meaning he had already scored more than in the entirety of the previous campaign.[35]
2021–present: Contract extensions and Champions League victories
Valverde in a trophy presentation ceremony at Virgin of Almudena in 2022
On 24 August 2021, Valverde extended his contract until 2027.[36] On 12 January 2022, he scored Real Madrid's third goal in a 3–2 win over Barcelona in extra time of the Supercopa de España semi-final, a tournament which Madrid eventually went on to win.[37] On 28 May, he assisted Vinícius Júnior to score the winning goal in a 1–0 win over Liverpool in the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final to clinch a record 14th UEFA Champions League title for Real Madrid.[38]
On 14 September 2022, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 2–0 victory over RB Leipzig.[39] In the 2022–23 season, he netted 12 goals in all competitions, fulfilling his coach Carlo Ancelotti's pre-season prediction that he would score more than 10 goals.[40] On 9 November 2023, Valverde extended his contract with Real Madrid until 30 June 2029.[41][42]
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