Federico Valverde once had trials at Arsenal, but he was not signed and then went on to become one of the best players in the world.
Arsenal have had some near transfer misses over the years, and hindsight shows that Valverde was certainly one of them.
The situation was different to when Arsene Wenger missed out on signing Cristiano Ronaldo, as at the time of the Uruguayan’s links to Arsenal, he was just 16.
Valverde spoke about his trials at Arsenal in his column for The Players’ Tribune, spending a week with Wenger’s team back in 2015 in his bid to land a European club after leaving his homeland.
Federico Valverde dubbed the most underrated player in the world after Arsenal trials
When The Athletic compiled a piece on Valverde’s trial at Arsenal, they noted that Mikel Arteta took the midfielder under his wing.
Did you know that Federico Valverde had trials at Arsenal?
One that got away 🥀
Also in the article, it was revealed that the Uruguayan had told Wenger that he’d like to join Arsenal, but when Real Madrid’s interest came in, there was only ever one answer.
A visa, a pathway to the first team and Real Madrid’s interest ended Valverde’s brief connection to Arsenal, and boy, did the Gunners miss out.
Now a two-time Champions League winner with a Transfermarkt market value of €120m, Valverde will have no regrets about not joining Arsenal.
Having watched Valverde score a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League round of 16 first leg, Wenger might’ve watched from afar with a grin on his face.
After the game, which saw Valverde score one of the best hat-tricks you’ll see, his teammate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, described him as the most underrated player in the world.
“I’m running out of words for him as a player, even as a Liverpool player. I admired him. He is undoubtedly the most underrated footballer on the planet,” Alexander-Arnold told TNT Sports.
The Englishman continued to express his admiration for Valverde.
“When you play with him, you understand how much he gives to the team. He covers every blade of grass; he gives his all. As a player, the best attribute you can have is that your teammates can always count on you, and he never lets you down.”
When the world was watching, Valverde showed his class in the Champions League, dismantling Arsenal’s title rivals with ease.
Given how tight the race for the Premier League title is, Arteta might be wishing that Wenger had made things work to sign Valverde over a decade ago.
The Uruguayan was one that got away, but some things in football just aren’t meant to be.
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