Liverpool: Valencia media react to Harvey Elliott red card v Villarreal as Javier Aguirre reveals private chat
Harvey Elliott’s loan spell at Valencia from Liverpool has gone from bad to worse, with the winger sent off against Villarreal in LaLiga on Saturday.
Elliott joined Valencia on loan from Liverpool in the summer of 2026.
The 23-year-old attacking midfielder struggled during his loan spell at Aston Villa last season.
Elliott, who is also able to play as a right-winger, failed to impress Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola in pre-season and joined Valencia on a loan deal on the final day of the summer transfer window.
It has been a disappointing spell at Valencia for the former Fulham youngster so far.
Elliott, who has scored 15 goals and given 21 assists in 149 appearances for Liverpool, has featured just six times for Valencia so far this season.
Last month, Elliott was accused of being ‘overweight’ in the Spanish media.
The Englishman’s latest appearance for Valencia ended in disaster, as he was sent off in the 2-1 defeat to Villarreal at Estadio de Mestalla in LaLiga on Saturday.
Elliott did not start the match, with Valencia manager Javier Aguirre bringing him on for Javi Guerra after 70 minutes.
Javier Aguirre defends Harvey Elliott
However, in the 89th minute, the Liverpool-owned attacking midfielder was sent off after picking up two yellow cards for dissent.
After the match, Valencia manager Aguirre defended Elliott and revealed that he told the attacker that it was not his fault that he was sent off.
Marca quotes Aguirre as saying: “We weren’t playing badly, and an absurd and ridiculous sending-off of someone who barely speaks Spanish really irritates me.
“And I already told him that.
“It’s not his fault, but entirely my fault for playing the player I did.
“We’ll talk about it behind closed doors.”
Valencia media gives Harvey Elliott 0 out of 10
Valencia-centric Spanish news outlet Super Deporte, though, slammed Elliott for his sending-off.
Describing Elliott as a ‘child’, the publication gave him 5 out of 10 in its Player Ratings and noted: ‘Learning Spanish is the least of it.
‘What’s more important is that he learns what it means to wear the Valencia CF shirt.
‘He was sent off for protesting.
‘Instead of focusing on winning the match, he started doing something inappropriate with the referee.
‘And although it was a ridiculous sending-off that shows how thin-skinned he is about Valencia CF, the Englishman should have spared himself the trouble.’
The defeat to Villarreal in Derbi de la Comunitat means that Valencia are second from bottom in LaLiga with just six points from 10 matches.
