The Uruguay midfielder often goes unnoticed, but he will be key if Los Blancos are to win their 15th European Cup on Saturday

Federico Valverde is hard to pin down – and that's the appeal. The Uruguay midfielder has bounced around the pitch for Real Madrid in his five full seasons at the club, plugging holes where needed, and settling into positions that often seem out of his comfort zone. But every time he has been asked by first Zinedine Zidane and then Carlo Ancelotti to do a job, Valverde has passed with flying colours.

Still, for all of his adaptability, there remained a sense that this versatile talent had more to give; he just needed to find somewhere on the pitch to stay long-term. And this season, Ancelotti might just have unlocked it, with Valverde now thriving in a deep-lying role within Madrid's modified 4-4-2.

Although his goals, assists and chance creation numbers are all down, Valverde has become the midfielder he was always meant to be – the unsung hero in the middle of the park who will be crucial if Los Blancos are to win their 15th European Cup in Saturday's Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.

Getty'Reincarnation of Gerrard'

When Premier League scouts visited Valverde in his Uruguay home back in 2015, they – according to an interview in – could only make one conclusion: "Valverde was something else. He was already a reincarnation of Steven Gerrard from a very young age."

All of the touchpoints were certainly there. The long stride, the tackling ability, the penchant to fire the ball into the net from distance, the relentless running, the occasional recklessness with and without the ball; this was South America's answer to one of England's greats.

But Valverde could never be that player at Madrid. At least, not when he arrived. He joined the club in 2018, when the Luka Modric-Toni Kroos-Casemiro triumvirate was at the height of its powers. That trio was guaranteed to start every game, and although Modric and Kroos were flirting with their 30s, there was no immediate entry point into the team for a 20-year-old yet who was unproven in European football.

Of course, only a select few get the chance to slot into the Madrid side at a young age – and even fewer actually make a success out of it. Valverde, then, bided his time, and spent a handful of seasons playing where he never figured to operate.

In the 2021-22 campaign, he played mostly as a right-winger, cutting inside and connecting with Karim Benzema. He did the same again the followint season, increasing his attacking output to 12 goals and seven assists in all competitions. And in the occasional midfield appearance – brought about to let the exciting Rodrygo work his magic on the right – Valverde impressed.

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But there remained a sense that Valverde was simply awaiting the chance to play where he performed the best: in central midfield. He figured to be the long-term replacement for one of Kroos or Modric, or perhaps a complimentary piece to both as their careers wound down.

In the end, it was the arrival of another midfielder that changed it all. Ancelotti had to get creative when Jude Bellingham signed last summer, as the Englishman's arrival at Santiago Bernabeu meant that the Italian boss had seven first-team calibre central midfielders to choose from, and only three spots to cram them into.

His solution is well chronicled, at this point. Ancelotti used Bellingham as a false nine-turned-No.10, and deployed three midfielders behind him. Kroos was in there for tempo, while one of Eduardo Camavinga or Aurelien Tchouameni provided energy and defensive nous. Valverde, meanwhile, was the first name on the teamsheet – and charged with doing a bit of everything else.

Evolving

In his new role, Valverde has been wonderful. The Uruguayan routinely slots into the right side of a deep-lying trio, charged with covering the grass between either box. He scampers up to join the attack, and tracks back to avoid Madrid getting hit on the break down the opposition's left.

A look at the numbers suggests this is an evolving player. Valverde has just two league goals to his name in 2023-24, but his assists are up to seven. He is attempting and completing more passes than in any of his previous years at Madrid. He is tackling more dribblers, and doing so at a more successful rate. He is switching the ball more times per 90 minutes than ever before in his career, and doing so the tune of a 90.9 percent success rate.

Look closely, and Valverde looks an awful lot like a tempo-setting midfielder, who can also track back, and also create chances. That Gerrard comparison might not be too far-fetched anymore.

Getty'Irreplaceable'

The shame is that very little of this shows up on the stat sheet. Valverde is, in fact, the player who perhaps gets the least credit in this Madrid side. Bellingham grabs the goals; Vinicius fills YouTube highlight reels with his dribbling ability – and seems to find the net when it matters; the shifty Rodrygo wows the crowd; Kroos, metronomic even in his old age, is unmissable for his penchant for pinging the ball around like few others in world football.

Valverde, meanwhile, does a bit of everything – to very little credit. It makes some sense, then, that the Uruguayan is subject to interest from elsewhere – especially with other big clubs willing to give him a starring role. Liverpool were one such team, the Reds interest reaching as far back as the summer of 2022, when they were willing to pay nine figures for the Madrid midfielder – only to have their interest rebuffed.

Rumours have cropped up once again that Valverde could seek an exit this summer, but Ancelotti himself has insisted that his unsung hero won't go anywhere. "It is difficult to say what he can improve," he told a press conference. "He's been very good this season. He is a team player and that is decisive. Wherever I put him, he contributes. He contributes as a winger, as a pivot, he gives assists, goals. He is irreplaceable to me."