Valverde a Gunner? It could have easily happened

Football is full of so-called "What if" stories which could have changed the history of the most important secondary thing in the world. Who knows how would football's history look if, for instance, Ronaldinho signed with Man United instead of Barcelona, Randal Kolo Muani scored from a colossal chance in the dying minutes of the extra time in the 2022 FIFA WC final, Lionel Messi stayed with the Catalans instead of moving to PSG, or Sir Alex Ferguson got sacked after his first five unsuccessful years at Old Trafford...

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Have you ever wondered what would have happened if one of Real Madrid's key players, Federico Valverde, joined Arsenal instead of Los Blancos? Probably not. However, believe it or not, the Uruguayan was on the verge of signing with the Gunners ten years ago. He even went on a trial at Emirates, but it wasn't meant to be.

Back in 2014, during a U-16 match between Argentina and Uruguay, Arsenal's then part-time scout, Francis Cagigao, and the club's lead for North, Central, and South America, Jonathan Vidalle, spotted an extremely talented midfielder named Federico Valverde in La Celeste's ranks, which immediately drew their attention.

Already in January 2015, that young man was in London, ready for a one-week trial at Emirates Stadium. He arrived accompanied by his brother Pablo and his club Penarol's representative Pablo Torres, and, in his own words, he was amazed and thrilled.

"I was 16 and it was something that I said, 'That's it. This is my club, where I'm going to grow.' It was very nice to arrive at Arsenal's sports complex and see all the pitches with 'pastito' (grass), see the clothes they had for training… it was another world and you said, 'Buaaah, this is the football you want coming from South America'," Valverde said last year in an interview with the Spanish TV station Movistar in its series of football interviews called Universo Valdano via The Athletic.

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Despite the language obstacle - as Fede didn't speak English - he managed to show his outstanding capabilities and undeniable talent, helped by the core of Arsenal's Spanish-speaking players, Hector Bellerin, Santi Cazorla, Emiliano Martinez, and Alexis Sanchez, as well as the team's captain, none other than Mikel Arteta.

"The captain was Mikel Arteta, who spoke perfect Spanish and was spectacular with us. He introduced himself to us and made himself entirely available to us. A spectacular person," Torres told The Athletic.

After his trial ended successfully, both Valverde and the club - including manager Arsene Wenger - were sure the Uruguayan would join the Premier League side. The French strategist even spoke to Fede about it.

"He asked Fede if he would like to play for him and for Arsenal, and Fede said yes," Torres claimed, revealing that the youngster was so confident he'd become a Gunner he didn't want a jersey of any player. On the contrary...

“Fede said, ‘No, no, put Valverde on mine.’ Francis (Cagigao) gave it to him on Saturday before we left. It's the only Arsenal shirt with Fede's name on it that exists!"

The two parties easily reached an agreement, and the plan was simple. Given that Cagigao was unable to travel to Uruguay and close the deal with Penarol, Arsenal's then-transfer negotiator, Dick Law, was sent to fulfil the task, unaware that he'd face some (un)expected difficulties.

The first was - of course - financial, as Penarol demanded €6 million, and the second was the player's inability to immediately join Arsenal.

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"For a non-first team player that seemed a little steep, but we were talking to them. The fundamental problem with our proposal was that we couldn't bring Valverde directly to Arsenal. He was a non-EU national and didn't have enough international points to qualify for a work permit. Our proposal to the family was that we would find a club, usually in Spain, where he could develop. We had done that in the past with success (Carlos Vela, among others). So he would become an Arsenal player, but go on loan to a Spanish club," Law stated via The Athletic.

Although there were rumours that Real Madrid might be interested in the player as well, the Gunners believed they were Valverde's first and only choice.

Yet, once Penarol rejected Arsenal's initial offer, the EPL side's move for the Uruguayan started falling apart...

Los Blancos chief scour, Juni Calafat - known for bringing many prospects to Santiago Bernabeu, including Rodrygo, Endrick, Eduardo Camavinga, Martin Odegaard, Arda Guler, Vinicius Jr, and Jude Bellingham - met with Fede and his family in Uruguay, presented the player with a detailed plan of his development, position on the team, and even offered the Valverde family to move to Madrid.

This option was much more appealing to the midfielder, who joined Los Blancos in July 2016 for €5 million, though the fee eventually increased to €9 million due to various bonuses.

Ultimately, he couldn't avoid a loan, as Madrid initially sent him to their reserve team, Castilla, before loaning him to Deportivo La Coruna in 2017, where he spent the entire season.

Valverde with Deportivo La Coruna in a pre-season friendly against Porto in July 2017 (©Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

Finally, when Valverde returned to Santiago Bernabeu in 2018, Julen Lopetegui gave him a chance with the first team, and Zinedine Zidane afterwards made him a regular starter. Truth be told, next to arguably the best midfield at the time consisted of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro, Valverde learned a lot and developed into a key player for the club's future.

In the end, things could have been different if Fede's move to London hadn't fallen through. Arsenal might have had another Premier League trophy, Real Madrid might have had fewer Champions Leagues, and Valverde might have been even better but also much worse... We'll never know. But that's the charm, isn't it?

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - QUARTER-FINALS

First leg

Tuesday

22.00: (2.35) Arsenal (3.30) Real Madrid (3.10)

22.00: (2.00) Bayern (3.45) Inter (3.80)

Wednesday

22.00: (1.37) Barcelona (5.10) Dortmund (7.75)

22.00: (1.42) PSG (5.00) Aston Villa (7.00)

***odds are subject to change***