Real Madrid News
Real Madrid midfielder ‘one of the best’ along with De Bruyne, says South Korea manager
Real Madrid and Uruguay midfielder Federico Valverde is one of the best in the world along with Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, according to South Korea national team manager Paulo Bento.
Valverde is enjoying a spectacular campaign with Real Madrid and is all set to play an important role for the Uruguayan national team at the FIFA World Cup when La Celeste begin their campaign tomorrow against South Korea.
And the Asian nation’s manager, Bento, has hailed Valverde, calling him one of the best in the game currently along with Manchester City superstar De Bruyne.
“Valverde is a fantastic player, with an extraordinary technical quality, with a physical dimension…. He can be considered with De Bruyne as one of the best midfielders,” Bento said in his press conference, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
“He has a great influence on the way Uruguay play and from midfield, he can solve a game. They are very strong collectively and individually,” he added.
Valverde has made a brilliant start to the 2022/23 season with Real Madrid, emerging as one of their best players for the champions of Spain and Europe.
In 20 matches across all competitions for Los Blancos this term, the 24-year-old has netted eight goals and set up four more for his teammates.
Be it playing in central midfield or on the right flank, Valverde has excelled under Carlo Ancelotti’s tutelage and will now hope to carry that form forward on the biggest stage of all at the World Cup.
Uruguay are drawn in Group H along with South Korea, Ghana, and Portugal, who will be led by former Real Madrid superstar and club legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Along with veteran stars like Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, Valverde will have an integral role to play if La Celeste are to progress further in the competition.
Real Madrid will be looking to pick up their fifth win of the 2026/27 La Liga season when they take on Elche CF at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero later tonight.
With 12 points from five games, Los Blancos are currently second in the league table, three points below leaders FC Barcelona.
As such, the Spanish capital club will be eager to get the win and close the gap to the top.
Guler starts, Bellingham rested
Ahead of kickoff, Real Madrid have announced the starting lineup that will take the field against Elche, with Jose Mourinho making some important changes.
For starters, Arda Guler is back in the lineup after appearing as a substitute in the win over Rayo Vallecano.
Interestingly, however, he starts in the attacking midfield role, with Mourinho opting to rest Jude Bellingham, who has started all of Real Madrid’s games so far.
That also means that Yan Diomande retains his place in the team, starting for a second time in a row on the right wing. Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. continue in their respective positions in attack.
Another notable change sees Aurelien Tchouameni make his first start of the season after recovering from injury and making two appearances off the bench.
He replaces Bernardo Silva as Federico Valverde’s partner in the middle of the park.
Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marc Cucurella come in as full-backs, while Ibrahima Konate and Dean Huijsen slot in at centre-back in front of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
📋✅ ¡Nuestro XI inicial!
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 15, 2026
🆚 @ElcheCF
👉 @UnicajaBanco pic.twitter.com/rHzZI1CQM7
