Real Madrid right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has called Fede Valverde the most underrated player in the game, following his incredible hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg. The Uruguayan scored all three goals in their win over City, but beyond that, put in an exceptional performance.
Valverde was coming off the back of a late winner against Celta Vigo in La Liga last Friday too, keeping Real Madrid within four points of Barcelona in the title race. After long periods at right-back over the last two seasons, Valverde was returned to the right midfield position he has had the most success in over recent years.
Los Blancos came into the game against Manchester City as underdogs, and Alexander-Arnold told TNT Sports that they were conscious of the expectations around the game.
“A lot of people, when the draw happened, and in the lead up to this game, you know especially the way we’ve been playing, a lot of people expected us to get battered tonight. It shows you that regardless of the injuries, what players are playing, the mentality. This competition means a lot to this club, and we understand that, we go out there and they support us like that, and we executed the gameplan perfectly in the first half.”
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“People will say they’re favourites, based on the results, and the way the two teams have been playing, and it could be true. But this is knockout football in the Champions League, anyone can beat anyone. Coming into this, we had a gameplan and we scored a lot of goals.”
Asked what it was that had changed from last week, then Real Madrid fell to a second straight defeat against Getafe last Monday, Alexander-Arnold explained that the key difference was motivation.
“Em, I think the size of the game, I don’t want to say that other games are less important. But when there’s so many eyes on the game, and so much hype, you need to perform as a player. Especially when you play for a club like this, there’s no excuses, you have to win. So our mentality is to go all the way and win the competition. No matter who is in front of us, we want to win.”
"He's the most underrated footballer on the planet and has been for years."
Trent Alexander-Arnold is reacts to Fede Valverde's Man of the Match performance against Man City 🔥
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 11, 2026
Meanwhile the main headline was Alexander-Arnold picking out Valverde as ‘the most underrated player on the planet’.
“I sang his praises a few weeks ago, but again, running out of words to describe him. He’s the most underrated footballer on the planet, and has been for years, but even before I came here, I always admired his game, because there’s no flaw in him.”
“There’s nothing he can’t do, the energy, is absolutely immense. He never moans, gets on with the game, he pushes himself to the limit game after the game, and it’s an amazing trait to have. Whether people agree or not, he’s definitely in the top tier of midfielders on the planet, and has been for years.”
