Valverde: Salah’s words motivate us. It’s like disparaging Real Madrid and its players

The Champions League final is just around the corner, with Real Madrid and Liverpool going head-to-head for the trophy. It will be a rematch of 2018, when the Spanish side won, something Mohamed Salah has not forgotten, and Federico Valverde did not like his words.

The war for the trophy won’t start until Saturday 28 May at 9pm, but the verbal one has already started well in advance. After winning the semi-final against Villarreal, Mohamed Salah was asked which team from the other semi-final pair Real Madrid – Manchester City he would prefer to reach the final.

“Yes, I want to get Real Madrid. I have to be honest, Manchester City is a very strong team, we played against them a couple of times this season. So if you ask me, I personally prefer Real Madrid,” Salah told BT Sport.

He then went on to clarify his words. “We lost the final against them…So I want to play against them and hopefully we can beat them.”

Salah’s wish came true, Real Madrid did indeed beat Manchester City to advance to the final, which has the same line-up as four years ago. Back then in Kiev, the White Ballet won 3-1.

But the words of the Egyptian footballer did not meet with much understanding in Madrid. In particular, Federico Valverde, who is a bit in the background, but who is almost a key player for Real this year.

“Salah’s words motivate us. Of course, these are words that everyone can take as they wish. I’m a rival and for me it’s like disparaging the emblem of Real Madrid and its players. All we can do is do our best, try to prove why we are in the final and hopefully we can deliver another trophy to the Real Madrid fans,” Valverde said in an interview with MARCA newspaper.

the 23-year-old Uruguayan understood well what it means to wear the Real Madrid emblem on his heart. He joined the royal club as a teenager and gradually worked his way up to the A-team. He proves his commitment to the club not only with his words, but especially with his actions on the pitch.

He has quickly become a great favourite amongst the fans, with fans marvelling at how much he runs in every game. “I’ll run for Real Madrid until my legs fall off, ” Valverde said two years ago, a phrase that has gone viral.

Moreover, Valverde proves it every game, it was definitely not a platitude. “It felt natural to say it like that. It’s my form of football, to prove why I’m at Real Madrid. As I said in that sentence, when your legs are slowly dying, your heart and head don’t stop fighting. You defend the Real Madrid emblem, so you have to defend it with pride,” explains the tireless all-rounder.

Source: MARCA