Federico Valverde facts for kids
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Valverde in 2021
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Federico Santiago Valverde Dipetta | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 22 July 1998 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Real Madrid | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 8 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2008 | Estudiantes de la Unión | |||||||||||||||
| 2008–2015 | Peñarol | |||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Real Madrid | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Peñarol | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Real Madrid B | 30 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2017– | Real Madrid | 195 | (19) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → Deportivo La Coruña (loan) | 24 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Uruguay U15 | 25 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Uruguay U17 | 24 | (11) | |||||||||||||
| 2015 | Uruguay U18 | 7 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Uruguay U20 | 15 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2017– | Uruguay | 67 | (8) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:18, 19 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:00, 20 November 2024 (UTC) |
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Federico Santiago Valverde Dipetta (born 22 July 1998) is a professional footballer from Uruguay. He plays as a midfielder for the famous club Real Madrid and for the Uruguay national team. Many people think he is one of the best midfielders in the world.
Valverde is known for how fast he is, how hard he works, his amazing energy, and his powerful shots. He usually plays in the middle of the field, but he can also play in a more defensive role or even on the right side of the field.
He started his professional career with Peñarol in 2015. He even won the top league in Uruguay in his first season! In 2016, he moved to Real Madrid. He first played for their reserve team, but by 2017, he was playing for the main team. He has played over 250 games for Real Madrid. With them, he has won many important titles, including three La Liga titles (Spain's top league) and two UEFA Champions League titles.
Valverde also plays for his country, Uruguay. He first played for the national team in 2017. Since then, he has played in three Copa América tournaments and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Early Life and Football Start
Federico Valverde was born on 22 July 1998 in Unión, a neighborhood in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. His parents are Julio Valverde and Doris Dipetta. He has an older brother named Diego, and two step-brothers, Pablo and Matías Castro.
Valverde has family roots from both Spain and Italy. He even became a Spanish citizen in 2020. He started playing football at a young age for his local club, Estudiantes de la Unión. Later, he tried out for Peñarol, a big club in Uruguay, and was quickly noticed by a scout named Néstor Gonçalves.
Club Career Journey
Playing for Peñarol
Valverde spent most of his younger years playing for Peñarol. He quickly became a standout player. He played his first game for the club on 23 July, just one day after his 17th birthday! It was a friendly match against Cruzeiro, which Peñarol won 3–1.
His official first-team debut was on 16 August 2015, in a league game against Cerro. During this time, he was guided by his childhood hero and teammate, Diego Forlán. Valverde's talent caught the eye of many big European clubs, including Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, and Real Madrid.
Joining Real Madrid
In July 2016, Valverde moved from Peñarol to Real Madrid. At first, he joined their reserve team, Castilla. He played his first game for Castilla a couple of months later. He quickly became a regular player for Castilla and scored his first goal in December 2016.
His coach at Castilla, Santiago Solari, was very happy with him. In January 2017, Solari said that Valverde had fit in well and was creating a lot of good plays in the midfield.
Loan to Deportivo La Coruña
On 22 June 2017, Valverde was loaned to Deportivo de La Coruña, another Spanish team, for one year. He played his first game for them on 10 September. He played in 24 league games that season.
Returning to Real Madrid's Main Team
After his loan, Valverde returned to Real Madrid. He impressed the new manager, Julen Lopetegui, during the pre-season games. Because of this, he officially joined the main Real Madrid team.
On 23 October 2018, Valverde played his first official game for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. He was only 20 years old! In his first season with the main team, he played 25 games and helped Real Madrid win the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup.
Becoming a Key Player (2019–2021)
When Zinedine Zidane returned as coach, Valverde became a very important player for the team during the 2019–20 season. On 9 November 2019, he scored his first goal for Real Madrid in a 4–0 win against Eibar.
On 12 January 2020, in the 2019–20 Supercopa de España Final against Atlético Madrid, Valverde made a crucial tackle. He stopped an opponent who was about to score, even though it meant he got a red card. This action helped Real Madrid win the game in a penalty shootout. He was even named "Man of the Match"! Atlético Madrid's manager called it "the most important play of the game." Valverde played in 33 league games that season as Real Madrid won the 2019–20 La Liga title.
On 27 September 2020, Valverde scored Real Madrid's first goal of the 2020–21 season. This was his 50th La Liga match for the club. A month later, on 24 October, Valverde scored against Barcelona in a big game called El Clásico. He was only the second Uruguayan player to score in El Clásico for Real Madrid. He scored again a week later, showing he was having a great scoring season.
Contract Extensions and Champions League Wins
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On 24 August 2021, Valverde signed a new contract with Real Madrid until 2027. On 12 January 2022, he scored a goal in the 2021-22 Supercopa de España semi-final against Barcelona, which Real Madrid went on to win.
On 28 May 2022, he made a fantastic assist to Vinícius Júnior for the winning goal in the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final. This helped Real Madrid win their 14th Champions League title, a record!
On 14 September 2022, he scored his first goal in the Champions League. In the 2022–23 season, he scored 12 goals in all competitions. His coach, Carlo Ancelotti, had predicted he would score more than 10 goals that season! On 9 November 2023, Valverde extended his contract with Real Madrid again, this time until 2029.
On 9 April 2024, he scored an amazing volley goal in a 3–3 draw against Manchester City in the Champions League. This goal was later named "Goal of the Season." After Real Madrid won the Champions League final, it was announced that Valverde would take over the number 8 shirt from Toni Kroos, who was retiring.
International Career for Uruguay
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Youth Teams
Valverde played for Uruguay's youth teams. At the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, he won the Silver Ball award, which means he was the second-best player in the tournament. Uruguay finished fourth in that competition.
Senior National Team
Valverde was called up to the Uruguay senior squad in August 2017. On 5 September of the same year, he scored his first goal for Uruguay in his debut game against Paraguay. He was part of Uruguay's team for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. In the quarter-finals, Uruguay lost to Peru in a penalty shootout. He also played for Uruguay in the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Personal Life
Federico Valverde used to have the nickname Pajarito, which means "baby bird." But now, he calls himself Halcón, which means "falcon." This new nickname shows how much he has grown as a professional footballer. He said, "Everyone started calling me 'Halcón,' and I liked it. It was very funny to me. Some people wanted to keep calling me 'Pajarito,' but I'm the 'Halcón' now."
Valverde is in a relationship with Argentinian journalist Mina Bonino. They have two sons, Benicio, born in 2020, and Bautista, born in 2023.
Career Statistics
Club Games
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Peñarol | 2016 | Uruguayan Primera División | 12 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Real Madrid Castilla | 2016–17 | Segunda División B | 30 | 3 | — | — | — | 30 | 3 | |||
| Deportivo La Coruña (loan) | 2017–18 | La Liga | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| Real Madrid | 2018–19 | La Liga | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | La Liga | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 3 | |
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 46 | 1 | |
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 34 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 56 | 12 | |
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 3 | |
| 2024–25 | La Liga | 20 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 8 | |
| Total | 195 | 19 | 21 | 2 | 59 | 3 | 16 | 5 | 291 | 29 | ||
| Career total | 261 | 22 | 22 | 2 | 60 | 3 | 16 | 5 | 359 | 32 | ||
International Games
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 2017 | 4 | 1 |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 12 | 2 | |
| Total | 67 | 8 | |
- Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Valverde goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 September 2017 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay |  Paraguay |
1–0 | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 7 June 2019 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Panama |
3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 5 September 2021 | Estadio Campeón del Siglo, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Bolivia |
2–0 | 4–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 29 March 2022 | Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo, Santiago, Chile |  Chile |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 24 March 2023 | Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan |  Japan |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup |
| 6 | 8 September 2023 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | Chile |
2–1 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 27 June 2024 | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States | Bolivia |
4–0 | 5–0 | 2024 Copa América |
| 8 | 19 November 2024 | Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil |  Brazil |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours and Awards
Peñarol
- Primera División: 2015–16
Real Madrid
- La Liga: 2019–20, 2021–22, 2023–24
- Copa del Rey: 2022–23
- Supercopa de España: 2020, 2022, 2024
- UEFA Champions League: 2021–22, 2023–24
- UEFA Super Cup: 2022, 2024
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2018, 2022
- FIFA Intercontinental Cup: 2024
Uruguay
- Copa América third place: 2024
Individual Awards
- La Liga Team of the Season: 2022–23, 2023–24
- FIFA U-20 World Cup Silver Ball: 2017
- UEFA La Liga Revelation Team of the year: 2019–20
- La Liga Player of the Month: September 2022
- FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball: 2022
- FIFA Intercontinental Cup Silver Ball: 2024
See also
In Spanish: Federico Valverde para niños
