Federico Valverde criticised following Uruguay’s 2026 World Cup exit | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup is officially at an end for Federico Valverde, whose Uruguay side were knocked out on Friday following a 1-0 defeat to Spain in their final group stage match. As expected, he’s attracted strong criticism given that he’s one of the leaders of the South American side, with some of that coming from Spanish sources.

On the whole, the last 12 months have been tough for Valverde. His performances on the pitch were good, but off-field situations have overshadowed these – he clashed with former Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso, then came to blows with teammate Aurelien Tchouameni after a heated exchange in May.

Taking these, as well as Valverde’s underwhelming World Cup performances, into account, this has led journalist Manolo Lama to criticise the Real Madrid midfielder when he spoke on Tiempo de Juego (via MD).

“It’s been a year in which he didn’t want to warm up, that he didn’t want to play as a full-back, that he made life impossible for Xabi Alonso. Tell him that’s enough.”

Valverde will be keen to answer his critics next season

There has certainly been a lot of scrutiny on Valverde over the last 12 months, and that will only increase from next season, given that he has replaced Dani Carvajal as Real Madrid captain. New head coach Jose Mourinho is standing behind the 27-year-old, whom he will hand a key role in his plans for the 2026-27 campaign.

As for Valverde, he will be very keen to answer the doubts that have come his way. He’s very capable of doing so, and with Mourinho behind him, it would be no surprise to see him have a fantastic 2026-27 season as Real Madrid captain – the club’s supporters will certainly hope so, as they look ahead to the next few months.