Real Madrid star Fede Valverde could have ended up at Arsenal and was ‘on the verge’ of a move to the Emirates at one point.
That’s according to AS, who cover his rise to fame with Real Madrid today and how it could have been a very different story given Arsenal’s interest.
The newspaper reports that the midfielder had ‘reached a verbal agreement’ with Arsenal when he was still at former club Penarol.
He had been scouted by Arsenal’s Francis Cagigao, who was Arsene Wenger’s right-hand man for more than two decades at the club and considered one of the best in the business.
He had scouted Valverde after watching him in several games and convinced the player, his family and his agent that a move to Arsenal would be a wise one.
So much so that a contingent, including the player and his agent, flew to London in December 2014 and spent six days in the capital, staying at the Sopwell House Hotel near Arsenal’s Training Centre.
Valverde spent several days training with the club’s U23s and even with the first team on one occasion, as well as undergoing physical tests.
Arsenal were convinced and sent their chief negotiator, Richard Law, to Montevideo to finalise the signing with Penarol and his agent at the time, Gerardo Rabajda.
There was a ‘verbal agreement’ with both parties and Valverde’s side gave their consent, but nothing was signed, and a decision was made to wait until the end of the South American Under 17 Championship taking place in Paraguay.
That changed everything as Valverde starred in that tournament, scoring seven goals and finishing as the second top scorer overall.
Beyond that he was ‘dazzling’ and ‘caught the eye’ of the big clubs in Europe, including Real Madrid, who ‘did not hesitate’ to secure his signature.
Arsenal demanded Valverde honour their agreement, with the player’s agent having shook hands on it, and their €3m bid was the highest at the time. The family were ready to do so and Arsenal ‘had everything in place’ for his arrival but it was not to be.
The bidding process soon saw his price rising and Madrid ‘moved well and fast’ and a €5m deal was approved by general manager Jose Angel Sanchez, on the insistence of famed scout Juni Calafat.
By June Valverde had landed in Madrid to join the Castilla side and hasn’t looked back since, establishing himself as a star under Zinedine Zidane and continuing to fly high today, presumably to great annoyance at Arsenal.
