15 November 2023 , 20:21
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Federico Valverde has insisted that he never had any intention of moving to England as a teenager despite travelling to Arsenal to undergo a trial.
The Real Madrid midfielder, 25, has evolved into one of Europe's finest playmakers over the past few years, but clubs all over the world were well aware of his prodigious talents from an early age. Arsenal were one of those clubs and arrangements were made for Valverde to travel to London in order to train with the Gunners.
Arsene Wenger was at the helm when Valverde made the trip to Arsenal - but the Uruguay international is adamant that he never had a desire to move to England at such a young age despite encouragement from others.
“If you Google me, you will see stories about how I almost went to Arsenal when I was 16. That’s maybe half-true,” Valverde said in a column for The Players’ Tribune.
“It’s nothing against Arsenal, but I never wanted to go to England. At that time, the business side of football took over. Certain people were telling me, 'Who wouldn’t want to go play for Arsenal? You want to stay here in Uruguay? That’s crazy!'. What they were really saying under their breath was, 'We can all make a lot of money if you go'.
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“You realise that your life is not your own in football. Especially at a young age, you feel more like a hostage. Even your family becomes a hostage. Football is an escape to a better life, especially for us in South America, and the vultures know that. They put the pressure on you in a 'nice' way: 'Damn, Fede, if you go to Arsenal, you’ll have a nice bed and a shower that stays warm for 30, 40 minutes! Who wouldn’t want that life?'.
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Fede Valverde has gone into more detail about a previous trial with Arsenal (Real Madrid)“They sent me on trial to London for a week, and I just wasn’t comfortable. If you only think of material things, it sounds great. But we are not robots. The reality was that my family couldn’t come to London with me. I’d have to live alone, not speaking the language, at 16-years-old. For every one kid who succeeds in moving overseas, you don’t see the 100 who fail’.”
Since that trial, Valverde's career has been on an upward trajectory with Los Blancos, where he was won both La Liga and the Champions League. Unsurprisingly, his talents have continued to win him admirers in the Premier League and both Chelsea and Liverpool were linked with him in the summer.
The £100million-rated star made it clear nothing had changed, though, during an interview with ESPN Argentina in the summer - he is more than happy where he is.
“No, no,” he replied when quizzed over a potential transfer. “I'm at Madrid and I'm trying to enjoy every moment and leave my mark on the best club in the world. I want to keep winning titles for the Real Madrid fans.”