Federico Valverde facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Federico Valverde

Valverde in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Federico Santiago Valverde Dipetta
Date of birth	(1998-07-22) 22 July 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder, Right-back
Team information
Current team	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	211	(20)
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	69	(8)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Uruguay Copa América Third 2024 United States
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:32, 24 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 25 March 2025 (UTC)

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. He also captains the Uruguay national team. Many people think he is one of the best midfielders in the world. He mostly plays in the center of the field. Sometimes, he also plays as a defensive midfielder or even a right-back.

Valverde started his professional career with Peñarol in 2015. He helped them win the Uruguayan Primera División in his very first season. In 2016, he joined Real Madrid. He first played for their reserve team. He joined the main team in 2017. Since then, he has played over 300 games for Real Madrid. He has won many important titles with them. These include three La Liga titles, two FIFA Club World Cups, and two UEFA Champions League titles. He also won two UEFA Super Cups and the Copa del Rey.

Valverde first played for the Uruguay national team in 2017. He has played for his country in three Copa América tournaments. He also played in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Early Life and Football Start

Federico Valverde was born on 22 July 1998. His hometown is Unión, a neighborhood in Montevideo, Uruguay. His parents are Julio Valverde and Doris Dipetta. He has an older brother, Diego, and two step-brothers. Federico has family roots from Spain and Italy. In 2020, he became a Spanish citizen.

Valverde started playing football at a young age. He began with his local club, Estudiantes de la Unión. Later, he tried out for Peñarol. A famous scout named Néstor Gonçalves noticed his talent there.

Club Career Journey

Playing for Peñarol

Valverde spent most of his youth years at Peñarol. He quickly showed how good he was. He played his first club game on 23 July, just after his 17th birthday. It was a friendly match against Cruzeiro, which Peñarol won. His first official game was on 16 August 2015. This was in the 2015–16 season against Cerro. During this time, his childhood hero and teammate, Diego Forlán, helped guide him.

Valverde also played for Uruguay's national youth teams. His skills caught the eye of big European clubs. Teams like Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, and Real Madrid were interested in him.

Joining Real Madrid

In July 2016, Valverde moved from Peñarol to Real Madrid. He first 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. He scored his first goal for them in December 2016.

His coach at Castilla, Santiago Solari, was very happy with him. Solari said in 2017 that Valverde had adapted well. He also said Valverde always created 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 for one year. This team played in La Liga. He played his first game for them on 10 September. He played in 24 league games during the season. However, the team was moved down to a lower league that year.

Returning to Real Madrid in 2018

Valverde with Real Madrid in 2018

After his loan, Valverde returned to Real Madrid. He impressed the new manager, Julen Lopetegui. He officially joined the first team. On 23 October 2018, Valverde played his first official game for Real Madrid. It was a UEFA Champions League game against Viktoria Plzeň. He was only 20 years old. In his first season with the main team, he played 25 games. He also helped Real Madrid win the FIFA Club World Cup.

Becoming a Key Player (2019–2021)

When Zinedine Zidane returned as coach, Valverde became a very important player. On 9 November 2019, he scored his first goal for Real Madrid. It was in a 4–0 win against Eibar in La Liga.

On 12 January 2020, Valverde made a famous tackle in the Supercopa de España Final. He stopped an opponent who was about to score. He was sent off, but his action saved a goal. Real Madrid then won the game in a penalty shootout. He was even named Man of the Match! The opposing coach, Diego Simeone, called it "the most important play of the game." Valverde played in 33 league games that season. 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 game for the club. A month later, on 24 October, he scored against Barcelona in just five minutes. This made him only the second Uruguayan to score in El Clásico. He scored again a week later. These goals meant he had already scored more than in his entire previous season.

Success and Leadership (2021–Present)

Valverde at a trophy presentation in 2022

On 24 August 2021, Valverde signed a new contract with Real Madrid until 2027. In January 2022, he scored a goal in the Supercopa de España semi-final against Barcelona. Real Madrid went on to win that tournament. On 28 May, he made a great pass that led to the winning goal in the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final. This helped Real Madrid win their 14th UEFA Champions League title.

On 14 September 2022, he scored his first Champions League goal. 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. On 9 November 2023, Valverde extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2029.

On 9 April 2024, he scored an amazing volley goal against Manchester City. This goal was named Goal of the Season. After Real Madrid won the Champions League final, it was announced that Valverde would wear the number 8 shirt. This happened after Toni Kroos retired.

For the 2025–26 season, Valverde was made vice-captain of the team. This happened after Luka Modrić and Lucas Vázquez left the club.

International Career for Uruguay

Valverde lining up for Uruguay in 2017

Youth Teams

Valverde won the Silver Ball award at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. This award is given to 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. He scored his first goal for his country on 5 September of the same year, against Paraguay. Valverde was considered for the 2018 FIFA World Cup squad. However, he was not in the final team.

He was part of Uruguay's squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. In the quarter-finals, Uruguay lost to Peru in a penalty shootout. He also played in the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Personal Life

Valverde used to be called Pajarito, which means "baby bird." Now, he calls himself Halcón, meaning "falcon." This shows how much he has grown as a footballer. He said he liked the new nickname because it was funny and showed his progress.

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

International

Honours and Awards

Federico Valverde has won many awards and titles with his teams:

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, 2024–25
• 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
• The Athletic La Liga Team of the Season: 2024–25

See also

In Spanish: Federico Valverde para niños