Xabi Alonso has named one underrated Real Madrid player he’d compare to his former Liverpool teammate, Steven Gerrard. The Spaniard took the royal saddle at the Bernabeu over the summer, leaving Bayer Leverkusen after leading them to a historic unbeaten Bundesliga-winning campaign two seasons ago, replacing the outgoing Carlo Ancelotti.
His first task in the Spanish capital is to restore Los Blancos to their trophy-laden ways, after Ancelotti’s final season delivered only the UEFA Super Cup. So far, Alonso has had two Club World Cup matches - a 1-1 draw with Al-Hilal and a 3-1 win over Pachuca - to begin evaluating the squad at his disposal.
During his playing days, Alonso was an all-encompassing midfielder, capable of scoring, dictating tempo, and driving forward from deep like a Rolls-Royce with a radar. At Liverpool, he joined forces with Gerrard, one of the club’s all-time greats, to devastating effect, and already, the faint but familiar silhouette of the Englishman's spirit seems to flicker in one of Alonso’s new charges - a player who has all the hallmarks of becoming an icon himself.
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Xabi Alonso Compared Federico Valverde To Steven Gerrard
The Uruguayan is one of the most underrated footballers on the planet
Federico Valverde
Following Sunday night's victory over their Mexican opponents, Alonso addressed the media at North Carolina's Bank of America Stadium, where his analysis of the performance quickly turned into a display of praise for Federico Valverde. The Real Madrid boss explained that the 26-year-old Uruguay international is someone any manager would want. He told reporters:
"I haven't seen many players with his physical ability. He reminds me of Steven Gerrard. He can play anywhere and I'm very happy to be coaching him. Every coach would like to have a Valverde in their team. He made up for the penalty the other day and showed his fighting spirit in the celebration".
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Valverde's Unheralded Genius
He can play pretty much anywhere
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At this point, it's hard to define what Valverde's position on a football pitch actually is. By trade, he's a central midfielder, but you could almost count on two hands how often he actually takes up that role for Real Madrid, because the 26-year-old seems to play absolutely everywhere, including at right-back last season while Dani Carvajal was sidelined.
What's more impressive is that, in whatever role Valverde takes on, he's usually one of the best in the world at it. Part of that comes from the sheer passion and determination he brings to every game - something Uruguayan football fans refer to as "Garra Charrua". But don't overlook just how good he is technically. He's one of the best midfielders on the planet for a reason; He just often gets overshadowed by the Galacticos around him.
Since making the bargain £4.2 million switch from Penarol to Real Madrid in 2016, the versatile engine-room orchestrator has scored 31 goals and provided 31 assists in 319 appearances. In that same time frame, he has won two Champions League titles, two Club World Cups, three La Liga titles, and two UEFA Super Cups - playing an instrumental role in each.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt (correct as of 23/06/2025)