Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of MARCA's first meeting with Fede Valverde, who was then 17 years old (March 28, 2016). Fede (FV) had just made his debut with Peñarol's first team. And for this reason, taking advantage of our presence in London for the friendly match between England and Uruguay (1-1, with Fede scoring a penalty in the 94th minute), we asked the Real Madrid player to remember that moment from a decade ago. And there we were with him. His wife, Mina Bonino, has said several times that the 'Falcon's' sporting level has always been very high when she was pregnant, which is now the case with the couple's future third child (daughter in this case). "It's true, it's like that. I'm very motivated by this third child, but that's it. I think this is going to be my last 'prime'," he said on Friday in an interview with the AUF. Valverde showed his happiness for his personal moment with Mina - the person, along with his parents, who has most influenced his career from the intimate side - and for his professional moment, being, today, the most in-form midfielder in the world with an excellent 2026. The report could not be more timely, as Fede added another milestone for Uruguayan football with his goal in the 94th minute at Wembley, which meant the 1-1 final score for La Celeste against England. Another feat for a footballer who is on his way to being one of the greats in the history of that small great country. Valverde will be the team's second captain (after Josema Gimenez) at the World Cup. In the meeting with FV, we discussed a 2026 that is proving to be optimal for him, with eight goals (of the 12 this season) and eight assists for Real Madrid, as well as some memorable performances (hat-trick against City). Both. Fede... and the author of this article, who did that interview, his first in Spain, in March 2016. "How young we were," he says when he sees the image we show on these pages. He was 17 years old and playing for Penarol, where he had already made his first team debut. That meeting with MARCA took place in Montevideo; the one on these pages was in London, where Fede triumphed with his national team. That interview was on March 28, 2016. We traveled to Montevideo, the capital of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, to, among other things, interview a young boy who was emerging at Peñarol, the biggest institution in the country (along with Nacional), and, in this way, give the first journalistic signals of Valverde in Spain. Until then, little was known about him in Europe, although in Uruguay he had already been talked about for a few months after being discovered in the region in a South American U-17 Championship. The interview with MARCA was at Los Aromos, the mythical 'manya' Ciudad Deportiva, which served as the setting for an interview that is now history. I remember that, to arrange it, we were helped a lot by the club's press department and Diego Forlan, who was then a striker for the Uruguayan club after his European career.'El Pajarito' was a child, as it could not be otherwise at 17 years old. On March 28, 2016, Valverde was not yet 18, something he did on July 22 of that year, when he was able to sign for Real Madrid. In fact, the official date of his incorporation to the Madrid club was July 28, 2016. Before that interview, Federico had made his debut for Peñarol at just 17 years of age. He had made his debut under the myth Bengoechea - a former Sevilla player, among others - in the first round of the Uruguayan tournament. He played 55 minutes and performed well. And that's when we started to see the little Fede. Since then, Real Madrid fans, Uruguayan fans, and Penarol fans in particular, have followed him in the elite during these 10 years, something that we have also done modestly at MARCA, with his good moments (the most) and also some bad ones. Let's remember that Fede is 27 years old (he turns 28 in July) and his contract with Real Madrid expires in 2029. There is, therefore, Federico for quite a few years to come. From that 'Pajarito' to the current 'Halcon'. A 'Fede player' who has evolved a lot in 10 years... but who maintains the same kindness as a person.
