Fede Valverde’s spell at right back may have been interrupted at exactly the moment Real Madrid needed it most. He could not continue in El Clásico and left in the 62nd minute of a match Real Madrid won 2-1, a change that could force José Mourinho to rethink a role that has kept Trent Alexander-Arnold waiting.
That is why the search is on now around Real Madrid Vs AEK Athens, even if the immediate issue is not the fixture itself but what Valverde’s knock could mean for the next selection. Valverde had become Mourinho’s emergency answer on the right side, and the timing matters because the setup has left Alexander-Arnold on the outside looking in despite arriving in 2025 for €12 million.
The numbers show how far that shuffle has gone. Alexander-Arnold has made 30 appearances for Real Madrid, but only 53 minutes since Mourinho chose Valverde at right back. He played 52 minutes against Villarreal, then only one minute in El Clásico. Three separate muscle setbacks have not helped, yet the bigger issue has been that Mourinho trusted Valverde in a spot that Alexander-Arnold was signed to fill.
Valverde’s case was strong because the performances backed the move. He had been used in defense this season after a tactical shift that followed Arda Güler replacing Denzel Dumfries in Rome, and he was effective enough to keep the role. In the comeback victory in Rome, he initially lined up in a double pivot alongside Aurélien Tchouaméni before moving back into defense. Against Villarreal, he returned there again after Vinícius Júnior was sent off, showing how often Mourinho has leaned on him when the shape changed.
That leaves Dumfries in a different kind of holding pattern. Real Madrid signed him from Inter Milan this year for €20 million, and he has featured in 10 of the club’s 13 competitive matches for almost 600 minutes. He also played 350 of a possible 360 minutes during September’s international break under Xavi Hernández. Mourinho, though, has made clear he does not want the position split into extremes. As he put it, you cannot expect one player to play 60 games and the other none, or one to play 10 and the other 50; that is not possible, and the squad has plenty of quality.
The friction is that Valverde’s best use may be the one that blocks two natural right backs at once. He assisted Diomande for the winger’s first goal in a Real Madrid shirt, created three chances himself and matched Diomande for total chance creation. He also ranked second among Real Madrid players for completed passes in the final third with 12, behind Arda Güler’s 18, while adding four ball recoveries, two interceptions, one clearance, one successful tackle and four wins from five duels without being beaten by a dribbler. That is why Mourinho may not move quickly unless Valverde’s problem lingers.
If he does miss more time, Alexander-Arnold is the likelier first beneficiary because Dumfries has already been used more regularly and still has not displaced Mourinho’s preference for Valverde. The only real unanswered question now is not whether the right-back spot can change, but whether Valverde’s absence is long enough to make Mourinho abandon the structure that has worked for him so far.
