Valdez was born in Tala on 10 July 1965.[1] During his time as a student in Montevideo he became a fan of the football club Rentistas. At age 21 Valdez started working for the club. His relationship with the club was further strengthened when his brother started playing there.[1] Valdez also worked as a sports journalist for a while.[2] At Rentistas he served in different functions, including terms as Secretary General and President for four years.[1]
On 3 April 2014 Valdez was elected as president of the Uruguayan Football Association, where he was the candidate for Rentistas.[3] He succeeded Sebastián Bauzá as president.[4]
Valdez was elected third Vice President of CONMEBOL on 4 March 2015.[5] On 11 December 2015, after the resignation of CONMEBOL president Juan Ángel Napout related to the 2015 FIFA corruption case, Valdez became interim President.[6] First Vice President Rafael Esquivel had already been arrested in May and second Vice President Sergio Jadue had entered into a guilty plea with United States prosecutors the day before Valdez his appointment.[7] Valdez's term as interim President ended on 26 January 2016, when a CONMEBOL congress was convened to elect new officials. His successor was Alejandro Domínguez.[6][8]
In 2016 Valdez became member of the FIFA Council.[9] Valdez resigned his position as president of the Uruguayan Football Association on 30 July 2018 for personal reasons.[10][11] His resignation came the day before the date when elections were scheduled in which Valdez ran for re-election for Valdez's successor.[9] On 21 August 2018 FIFA took over the control of the Uruguayan Football Association to ensure free and fair elections.[12] CONMEBOL removed Valdez as member of the FIFA Council in October 2018 and appointed Argentine football president Claudio Tapia as interim successor.[9]
In February 2020 the adjudicatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee found Valdez guilty of violations and sanctioned him with a one year ban of all football related activitiy and a fine of 10,000 Swiss franc.[13]