Valverde: "We're excited and hungry to get off on the right foot"
"I want to give my best, work hard and grow both as a person and as a teammate," added the midfielder.
Valverde was another star of the press conference on the eve of Real Madrid's European Super Cup meeting with Atalanta. The midfielder highlighted: “We're excited and hungry. We want to get off on the right foot now, with new players who have come in to make a contribution and we're really fired up."
“I'm ready to do whatever the coach asks of me. We have a lot of attacking players here and it's not going to be easy but I want to give my best, work hard, grow as a player, a person and a teammate. I will do all I can to give my best to the team."
Mbappé
“I've been put up against him a couple of times in training. We know the quality he possesses. He's one of the best in the world, he's coming in to contribute to the team, he's hungry and motivated to be starting out at Real Madrid. He's here to leave a mark on the club.”
Tough calendar
“We have to consider the fact I'm from South America and have a 12-hour flight to link up with the national team. Then I'm playing shortly after that. We've trained less this year and we're low on gas, but we try and do the best we can. We're professionals, we're mature guys and we try to look after our bodies with how we eat and rest. It does catch up with you at times, though."
Kroos
“We know what Toni has done for Real Madrid, for football, for loads of young kids and especially for me. I grew up alongside him and every word of advice he gave me was an honour. I'm so proud to have inherited his number. He was a wonderful player and a highly respected man in my house. I'll try and give the very best of myself with this number. I'll still be Valverde and I want to contribute as a player, a person and a teammate. He'll be missed in the dressing room. But life and football continue and we have to keep moving forward."