Federico Valverde has reportedly made it very clear that he’d prefer to stay at Real Madrid despite the attention of Liverpool and other English clubs.
The 24-year-old was the subject of a rumoured £77m bid from Anfield, which is believed to be the Reds’ second offer for him, but so far Los Blancos haven’t been for turning.
Indeed, as per a new report from 90min, they’re thought to have given short shrift to enquiries from Premier League duo Chelsea and Manchester City, along with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
It’s also understood that Valverde’s preference is to remain in Madrid for professional and personal reasons. A close source outlined that the Uruguayan sees himself as a future captain at the Bernabeu, while he’s just become a father for the second time and he doesn’t want to uproot his family from the Spanish capital.
A Liverpool move for the 24-year-old always seemed a long shot due to the fee he’d likely command, and the player himself has now more of less shot down any thoughts of a prospective move to Anfield.
Having already spent just under £100m this summer on two other midfielders in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, it’d seem most unlikely that the Reds would part with £77m to bring in another player in that position.
Any further signings would probably be in the more modest £30m-£50m bracket (Neil Jones), and with the midfield strengthened considerably, Jurgen Klopp may want to set aside plenty of the remaining budget for prospective additions in defence.
Valverde’s standing at Real Madrid is perhaps best illustrated by the presence of a staggering €1bn (£854.5m) release clause in his current contract (90min), which makes it crystal clear that any departure would either need to be pushed through by him or sanctioned by the club.
With neither of those scenarios likely to materialise any time soon, Liverpool can forget about trying to land the Uruguayan and instead concentrate their efforts on transfer targets who’d better fit their projected spending level.
#Ep79 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Dominik Szoboszlai – a mix of De Bruyne/Gerrard/Zidane?🎙️