"The Uruguayan is 'flying across the pitch'," emphasised Kroos: "It’s absolutely brilliant how he’s playing at the moment." He added that his former teammate is a key figure at Real Madrid, even beyond his sporting achievements on the pitch. "He’s the sort of player who possesses not only quality but also the right mentality," he explained.
Valverde is currently, without a doubt, one of the most in-form players in Europe; he particularly underlined his importance to Real in the Champions League round of 16 against Manchester City. In the 3-0 first-leg victory, the versatile midfielder scored all three goals in spectacular fashion.
In the absence of Dani Carvajal, Valverde now also wears the captain’s armband. Across all competitions, he has been involved in a staggering 20 goals in 42 competitive matches this season, despite having played a large number of those games as a nominal right-back.