Real Madrid star assures ‘there are players who don’t need to defend’ | OneFootball

Real Madrid star Federico Valverde has this weekend moved to defend the club’s attacking stars.

This comes amid recent criticism over the defensive work rate, or rather lack thereof, displayed by the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Jr.

Amid something of a hit-and-miss start to the campaign on the part of Real Madrid, frontmen Mbappé and Vinícius, over recent weeks, have both seen their workrates called into question by sections of the club’s supporters.

Speaking during an interview with Marca this weekend, the subject of such criticisms was in turn put to the aforementioned Federico Valverde.

One of the hardest workers in not only Madrid, but all of world football, however, Valverde moved to defend his teammates.

Adamant that different players have different responsibilities on the pitch, the midfield all-rounder explained:

“There are players who don’t need to defend. Personally, I don’t mind running for our forwards, so that they can take advantage of it. It’s good that (the forwards) help us, from time to time, but it’s like with the defenders: nobody expects them to attack for the whole ninety minutes.”

Conor Laird – GSFN