Liverpool were in the market for a new midfielder this summer, and according to AS, they were ready to pay €100m (£85m) for Federico Valverde in the final days of the transfer window.
The Reds, of course, knew of Valverde’s talents after his starring performance in the Champions League final back in May, and, understandably, Real Madrid weren’t too keen to part ways with the Uruguayan after a remarkable season.
In fact, Valverde’s brilliant campaign has now been capped off with his country’s top honour as he won the Charrúa de Oro Award for being the best athlete in Uruguay.
Of course, Uruguay is a country obsessed with sports ranging from surfing to MMA, but football is the national game over in South America, and Valverde is the best of the bunch at the moment.
Uruguay are coming off the back of a golden generation spearheaded by none other than former Liverpool star Luis Suarez, but sadly, it seems as though Valverde won’t be following in Suarez’s footsteps by joining the Reds.
Valverde is certainly good value for this award. He was one of Real Madrid’s most important players last season, and he’ll be aiming to take Uruguay to their third World Cup triumph in Qatar this summer and with the likes of Darwin Nunez, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ronald Araujo all emerging as top talents alongside Valverde, they may have a chance.
Liverpool have certainly missed out on a truly world-class player here, but the reality is that once a player has established themselves at Real Madrid, it’s almost impossible to get them out of the Santiago Bernabeu.
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