Conflict. This is the word that best sums up Fede Valverde’s season, concluded by a disappointing elimination with Uruguay, from the group stage of this 2026 World Cup. It must be said that the number 8 of Real Madrid was part of the mutineers who contributed to the dismissal of history. Then, there was this fight with Aurélien Tchouameni in the locker room, and a lot of information leaked suggesting sometimes problematic behavior from the Uruguayan. His partner’s publications on social networks don’t help.
Finally, during this World Cup, he also led a group of Celeste players who rebelled against Marcelo Bielsa and his methods, which clearly did not go unnoticed in Spain. Nor even in his country, where he was clearly criticized. In recent days, the Madrid media have been publishing articles about him. For the moment, there is no question of selling it, quite the contrary. It is even Tchouameni who could be invited to pack his bags, while the Uruguayan is still considered an executive of the team by management.
A hot issue for Mourinho
For his part, A.S. confirms that he remains an essential player in the eyes of Madrid decision-makers, but explains that it will be a tense issue for José Mourinho to manage. The Portuguese will thus recover a player who has a string of controversies, who is described as toxic and who is coming out of a huge failure at the World Cup. A subject all the more thorny as the 27-year-old midfielder will become the first captain of the team, following the departure of Dani Carvajal.
The Lusitano coach, who intends to restore order in a locker room that is quite difficult for his predecessors to maneuver, will therefore have to manage the Valverde case well, otherwise he will see the latter act up again and, potentially, seriously complicate things internally. What is certain is that Valverde, who until his setbacks last season had a good level of sympathy in Madrid, has lost the goodwill of Merengue public opinion, who will not forgive him any deviations in the coming months…
