Peñarol Valverde spent most of his youth career with
Peñarol, where he quickly made an impression. He made his club debut on 23 July, one day after his 17th birthday, in an international friendly against
Cruzeiro which they won 3–1. He had then his senior debut for the club on 16 August 2015 in their first fixture of the
2015–16 season against
Cerro, during which he was guided and mentored by his childhood idol and teammate,
Diego Forlán. He became part of the Uruguayan national youth teams and attracted the interest of European clubs, including
Arsenal,
Barcelona,
Chelsea and
Real Madrid.
Real Madrid In July 2016, Valverde was transferred from Peñarol to Real Madrid, initially being assigned to their reserve team
Castilla. Two months later, he made his debut for Castilla against
Real Unión, in a game which his team eventually lost. He became a regular member of the Castilla line-up his debut season, and scored his first goal against
Albacete in December 2016. In regards to his growing importance to the team,
Santiago Solari, his coach at Castilla, said on 29 January 2017, "I'm very happy with him. He has adapted very well to the club and country. Valverde always generates a lot of football in midfield."
Loan to Deportivo La Coruña On 22 June 2017, Valverde was loaned to
La Liga side
Deportivo de La Coruña for one year. He made his debut in the competition on 10 September, replacing
Fede Cartabia in a 2–4 home loss against
Real Sociedad. Valverde contributed with 24 league appearances during
the campaign, as the side suffered relegation.
2018: Return to Real Madrid in 2018|248x248px Upon returning from loan, Valverde impressed new manager
Julen Lopetegui during the 2018–19 pre-season and was definitively assigned to the first-team. On 23 October 2018, Valverde made his official Real Madrid debut in the
UEFA Champions League Group stage against
Viktoria Plzeň at the
Bernabéu at just 20 years old. He made 25 appearances and won the
FIFA Club World Cup in his first season with the first team.
2019–2021: First team breakthrough With the return of
Zinedine Zidane to the dugout and the departure of
Marcos Llorente, Valverde broke through to become a key squad player during the 2019–20 season. On 9 November 2019, he scored his first goal for Real Madrid, in a 4–0 away win over
Eibar in La Liga. On 12 January 2020, Valverde tackled
Álvaro Morata during the
Supercopa de España Final against Atlético Madrid, committing a professional foul and stopping play with Morata clean through on goal. Valverde was sent off, but his actions stopped what was a likely goal, forced a penalty shootout which Real Madrid won, and earned him the Man of The Match award and widespread praise. Atlético Madrid manager
Diego Simeone later referred to the tackle as "the most important play of the game". He made 33 appearances during the league season, as Real Madrid won the
2019–20 La Liga. On 27 September, Valverde scored Real Madrid's first goal of the
2020–21 season away to
Betis in
La Liga in an eventual 3–2 win and was selected as the 'King of The Match'. This was also his 50th La Liga match for
Los Blancos. One month later on 24 October, Valverde scored against
Barcelona at the
Camp Nou in just five minutes in an eventual 3–1 league win. He became just the second Uruguayan to score in
El Clásico (after
Luis Suárez) and the first for Real Madrid. One week later, Valverde scored again, against
Huesca, in a 4–1 league win at the
Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium. This was his third goal of the season, meaning he had already scored more than in the entirety of the previous campaign.
2021–present: Contract extensions, Champions League victories and rise to leadership in 2022 On 24 August 2021, Valverde extended his contract until 2027. On 12 January 2022, he scored Real Madrid's third goal in a 3–2 win over Barcelona in extra time of the
Supercopa de España semi-final, a tournament which Madrid eventually went on to win. On 28 May, he assisted
Vinícius Júnior to score the winning goal in a 1–0 win over
Liverpool in the
2022 UEFA Champions League Final to clinch a record 14th
UEFA Champions League title for Real Madrid. On 14 September 2022, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 2–0 victory over
RB Leipzig. In the
2022–23 season, he netted 12 goals in all competitions, fulfilling his coach
Carlo Ancelotti's pre-season prediction that he would score more than 10 goals. On 9 November 2023, Valverde extended his contract with Real Madrid until 30 June 2029. On 9 April 2024, he scored a first-time
volley in a 3–3 draw against
Manchester City in the
Champions League quarter-finals, which eventually earned him the honour of Goal of the Season. Following the victory in the
Champions League final, it was announced that he would be allocated the number 8 shirt after
Toni Kroos' following his retirement. In the
2025–26 season, with the departures of
Luka Modrić and
Lucas Vázquez, Valverde was promoted as vice-captain of the team. On 11 March 2026, he scored the first
hat-trick of his career in a 3–0 win over Manchester City in the first leg of the
Champions League round of 16. ==International career==