Xabi Alonso compares Real Madrid midfielder to Steven Gerrard

Real Madrid are back to winning ways in the FIFA Club World Cup after drawing their first game against Al Hilal. In the second game, they secured a comfortable win against Pachuca. Although they lost a player in the eighth minute to Raul Asencio, Los Banos staged a strong comeback to win 3-1. Following the victory, Xabi Alonso praised his players and gave a special mention to one of his midfielders by comparing him to a former teammate.

Speaking to the media, Xabi Alonso compared his midfield general, Fede Valverde, to his former teammate Steven Gerrard. He expressed his happiness about having Valverde in the team. He said:

"Fede Valverde? I'm very happy to have him in the team. He has something of Steven Gerrard

Continuing, Xabi Alonso mentioned that he saw Fede Valverde make his debut in 2017, and it reminded him of Steven Gerrard. He noted that Valverde has similar characteristics to the English midfielder, including being a box-to-box player with the ability to shoot from a distance. He also compared Valverde’s change of pace and late runs into the box to Gerrard’s. He said:

There are newspaper archives, back in 2017, when Fede made his debut in the national team, I already said that he reminded me of Steven Gerrard, who was a teammate of mine at Liverpool. He has similar characteristics: a box to box, with a good shot, change of pace, a lot of runs [into the box]. 

While Xabi Alonso did not want to compare both, he mentioned that his player has similar characteristics to that of his Liverpool teammate. 

What did Fede Valverde say about the comparison with Steven Gerrard?

Fede Valverde felt good about being compared with Steven Gerrard but mentioned that he always looks out for himself. He said:

It's spectacular when you are compared to such a player, to a star, a world idol, not just a Liverpool one. It's amazing. I see characteristics of him, obviously, I'm not going to say no, but one always looks out for one self.