Former Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan has lifted the lid on his relationship with Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde.

Forlan has known Valverde since his time with Penarol.

He told Marca: "We talked, and we still talk each other. He's a really nice guy. He was really, really young - 17 years old - when I arrived at Penarol, and a couple of months later he was sold to [Real] Madrid.

"We spoke about [Real] Madrid and that he was going to one of the biggest clubs in the world. When he was on loan at [Deportivo] La Coruna, he was relegated and was having a really difficult season, because sometimes he was playing [and] sometimes he wasn't, and then they were losing too many games.

S"o, every once in a while, I was texting him and telling him that he needs to try to and learn as much as possible during his time at [Deportivo] La Coruna and then, in the next year, he will be at [Real] Madrid. And if it wasn't the next year, it would be the next one.

"But [he's] a talented player and he needed to work hard to learn from that experience at [Deportivo] La Coruna. And then [in] a couple years or the next year, he will be playing with the best players in the world, which he is doing now.

"Not only them, all the other players. But those players you mentioned [stand out], because they are the ones that play in the same position that he plays. I think he's been growing game by game, year by year. For [Karim] Benzema's first goal against Barcelona, the way he got the ball and went past the players, and [then made] the pass... but the way he got the ball from his half of the pitch and then [kept] going all the way was unbelievable."