Key Real Madrid star admits he ‘imagined a future’ at Arsenal | OneFootball

Real Madrid star Federico Valverde has this week confirmed that he envisioned a future for himself on the books of Premier League giants Arsenal.

Valverde, for his part, underwent a trial period in north London during his teenage years.

Whilst still on the books of Uruguayan outfit Peñarol, the midfielder was afforded a chance to prove his talents in the Gunners’ academy setup.

In the end, things did not work out, with Valverde having gone on to put pen to paper on terms with Real Madrid a short time later.

As alluded to above, though, the now-26-year-old, at one point, had all but made his mind up that he would join Arsenal.

Speaking during an interview with ‘Universo Valdano’ on Movistar+, as cited by Marca, this week, Valverde was drawn on his past experience in England.

And the all-action midfielder went on to explain:

“I was 16. I said: ‘That’s it. This is my club. I’m going to grow here’. In Uruguay, the Premier League was watched a lot. I imagined a future there. I enjoyed it and I trained with spectacular players. I don’t know if he’ll remember me, but Dibu was one of the ones who helped me the most in everything, along with Bellerín, Alexis and Cazorla. I didn’t know English and they had to explain all the work to me.”

Conor Laird – GSFN