Former football player and current pundit Thierry Henry only had praises to sing for Fede Valverde after the player did a wonderful job against Manchester City in the first leg of their round-of-16 clash in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Valverde was the deciding factor as he scored an impressive hat-trick that saw Real Madrid go ahead 3-0 on aggregate against the English giants.
After the game, Henry mentioned even though Valverde is getting his plaudits now, he has always been a great player.
He said: “Fede Valverde always shines. Only thing is that people don’t see that type of shine. People don’t see the players who run.
“I can assure you, when you’re Trent and someone is defending with you, it’s easier to defend. Not only did he score goals, he always technically shines.
“This is the type of guy who will adapt to any situation. He played right-back, holding midfielder, left-back, under the striker, centre-back. Only goalkeeper is left. You have to give him a lot of credit.”
Henry also spoke about the completeness of Valverde’s performance. He not only scored the hat-trick, but also was one of Real Madrid’s most important players on the defensive end, and it only makes sense that he got his plaudits for everything he did.
Henry said: “Fede Valverde was not only Bergkamp today. He was Thuram, Bergkamp, Makélélé. He was everybody.”
Real Madrid and Alvaro Arbeloa would hope that the player can perform this way in the return leg at the Etihad Stadium next Tuesday.
