Real Madrid's new head coach, Xabi Alonso, has drawn a parallel between his current player, Federico Valverde, and his former Liverpool teammate, Steven Gerrard. The comparison comes after only a couple of games in charge of Real Madrid. Alonso expressed his admiration for Valverde following Real Madrid's 3-1 victory over Pachuca.

Alonso, who spent five seasons playing alongside Gerrard at Liverpool, highlighted Valverde's exceptional physical attributes. "I haven't seen many players with his physical performance. [Valverde] reminds me of someone like Steven Gerrard,” Alonso stated. Both midfielders were instrumental in Liverpool's Champions League victory in 2005, overcoming a 3-0 deficit against AC Milan to win on penalties. While Alonso eventually moved to Real Madrid, Gerrard remained at Liverpool for the majority of his career, making over 470 appearances.

Alonso lauded Valverde's versatility, stating, "He can play anywhere, and I'm very happy to be coaching him. All coaches would like to have a Valverde on the team". Despite primarily being a midfielder, Valverde has played in various positions for Real Madrid, including right-back and, recently, right wing against Pachuca. In that match, he scored at Bank of America Stadium. Alonso noted Valverde's determination after converting against Pachuca, especially considering his penalty miss against Al Hilal in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Valverde is coming off a productive 2024-25 season, where he appeared in a team-high 59 games and logged over 5,000 minutes. He has also played extensively in the summer, being one of the few Real Madrid players to play all 180 minutes in the first two FIFA Club World Cup games.

Following Alonso's arrival at Real Madrid, Valverde shared his initial impressions. "Xabi Alonso is very engaging and intense. Having him around helps a player a lot," Valverde said. "He is going to help us in terms of football and personally. We will all be pushing in the same direction to win the most titles this year".