Real Madrid star Fede Valverde claims Barcelona man is his best friend in the national team

Real Madrid star Federico Valverde has named Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo as his best friend from the Uruguay national team.

Valverde will be coming up against Araujo next week in the first El Clasico of the season. Barca host Los Blancos at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, with the two arch-rivals looking likely to stage another title race.

The 25-year-old put the rivalry between the two La Liga giants to one side when revealing his best national teammate (via BarcaTimes):

"My best friend in the National Team? Araujo."

Valverde and Araujo are both part of the Uruguayan national team and have been key for Marcelo Bielsa's side during 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying action. The duo played in La Celeste's 2-2 draw against Colombia and 2-0 win against Brazil.

The Real Madrid star, who has impressed this season with one goal and three assists in 11 games across competitions, lavished praise on Araujo in the past. He told The Residency (via Tribal Football):

"I'm fascinated by Ronald, I've always said it. I love him and he's also Uruguayan and he's a good friend of mine."

Araujo has long been one of Barcelona's stars ever since arriving at Camp Nou in 2018. He's made 118 appearances across competitions since debuting in 2019.

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Real Madrid star Valverde admitted he was impressed by Xavi's work at Barcelona

Xavi has earned plaudits during his reign in charge of Barcelona.

The Madrid midfielder also put the El Clasico rivalry aside to talk up Xavi's reign at Barcelona last season. The Spanish coach returned to Catalonia in November 2021 after spending 17 glorious years with the La Liga giants as a player.

Xavi oversaw Barca's first La Liga triumph since 2019 last season, displacing Real Madrid as champions. It was during the title race between the two rivals when Valverde applauded the transformation of the Blaugrana under their icon (via Mundo Deportivo):

"They are playing very well. They’ve had a very big change. They are playing very well and it shows that they want to go looking for points in the game. "

Barcelona won the La Liga title with a 10-point lead over Los Blancos and Xavi's men won 28 of their 38 league games. The Spanish coach has overseen 64 wins in 101 games since taking charge of the Catalan giants.

Valverde will be eager to help Real Madrid get one over Xavi's Barca next week. The Blaugrana sealed a dramatic 2-1 win against their El Clasico rivals last season in the same fixture.