MY ACCOUNT
Federico Valverde has joked he does not want to be responsible for Carlo Ancelotti’s retirement, after the Real Madrid head coach issued him with a 10-goal target for the season.
The Uruguayan is already well on the way to that landmark after opening the scoring in the 3-0 win against Elche to take his tally for the campaign to six across all competitions, with the win marking Madrid’s ninth in 10 LaLiga matches.
That goal sees Valverde equal the tally he had achieved in his first 148 matches for Los Blancos and Ancelotti is confident he will exceed the double-figure mark this term.
“He has to have that responsibility. We have a bet, I think he will score more than ten this season,” he told DAZN after the match.
“He’s a very important player for us. The energy he has is incredible. He has to score ten.”
Valverde is determined to hit that landmark and does not want to disappoint Ancelotti, joking that he will not be the reason for the retirement of the Italian coach.
“I’m focused on doing it. It’s a nice pressure. I don’t want to be to blame for the coach retiring,” he told DAZN.
Madrid’s victory against Elche came despite seeing three goals, all scored by Karim Benzema, disallowed by VAR for offside, with Valverde acknowledging the “weird” feeling of having an effort chalked off.
“You have to get used to it. It’s weird, you celebrate the goal and you think you’re comfortable. They cancel one, then another and then another,” he added.
