Valentino was a private person of few words. On 15 March 1942 he married Emilia Rinaldi, whom he had two sons, both players: Sandro - who played for Inter Milan and the Italy national team – and Ferruccio (who was named in honour of the president of Torino, Ferruccio Novo), born respectively in 1942 and 1945. In Turin he lived in a small apartment in Via Torricelli 66. He worked in Lingotto and reported as a FIAT worker essential to wartime production, to avoid participating directly in the Second World War. Although the Torino players salaries were very good, they were not considered exaggerated, compared to normal payroll. The players were not considered professionals and officially held other jobs; in the aftermath of the war, Mazzola owned a sports shop in Turin, where he sold footballs that he manufactured personally.