Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde had a wild night at the Bernabeu on Sunday – seemingly inspired by a night at the fights on Friday.
The midfielder was one of a number of stars from the team who were in attendance for PFL Madrid, including Thibaut Courtois and Jude Bellingham. And he was particularly interested in Luciano Pereira’s performance as a fellow Uruguayan athlete.
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Valverde got what he was looking for as he was cageside to watch Pereira score a stunning first round victory over Kevin Cordero. And he got into fighting form of his own a few days later as he scored in the Madrid derby before being sent off for a dubious red card.
Real Madrid star Federico Valverde enjoys fellow Uruguayan’s PFL win
Before one of the biggest games on their calendar this Sunday, the Real Madrid team enjoyed a fun night on the town as they headed to check out Costello Van Steenis and Fabian Edwards’ PFL middleweight title rematch.
‘The Spaniard’ got it done with a third round TKO to solidify himself as world champion, but for Federico Valverde the highlight came on the undercard. Luciano Pereira landed a massive knockout win to impress his countryman, before they shared a moment backstage.
Before getting back to the hotel and eventually returning to Uruguay, Valverde gifted the fighter with a match-worn jersey as a congratulatory gift for winning his promotional debut. They shared some words backstage and embraced, before posing for photos together.
However, the truly surprising moment came on Sunday when Valverde scored one of the most memorable goals of his career against Atletico Madrid. After slotting one in to put his side 2-1 up, he proceeded to head to the corner flag and recreate Pereira’s fight-ending sequence.
Unfortunately, the night ended for Valverde a few minutes later as he was sent off for a bad tackle. However, Real Madrid are appealing the decision, which seemed harsh given the circumstances of the game.
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