Real Madrid will present themselves at the Nou Camp on Sunday (9 p.m.) in a very tense atmosphere. We can almost describe this as surreal as the contrary elements have been linked together in recent days. We learned yesterday, Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouameni came to blows. Twice. The first during training on Tuesday after an intervention committed by one on the other, the second the next day where this time blows were exchanged to the point of sending the Uruguayan to have stitches… A new incident for which the two Merengues received an XXL fine. This shows the atmosphere of a locker room which has experienced, and is still experiencing, a succession of problems since the start of the season.
It seems far away the time when Real had the nickname “the club of friends“. It all started at the end of the summer with the first apparent problems between Vinicius Junior and Xabi Alonso. The Brazilian does not understand its use by his new coach. Regularly replaced, he sees clearly that he is moving into second place among offensive players behind Kylian Mbappé. The conflict exploded into the public square during the Clasico on October 26. Released in the 72nd minute, the attacker is eruptive. He doesn’t greet his coach, gets angry with the bench and hits a water bottle before heading straight back to the locker room.
Arbeloa alienated everyone
The striker is accused of being one of the players leading to the departure of the technician, who only arrived this summer. He’s not the only one, far from it. His successor, Alvaro Arbeloa, manages to do worse in terms of relationships. Quickly, he alienated Dani Carvajal, the official captain and locker room leader. When we point out to him that the right side is not playing, he responds tersely. “I think about what’s best for the team.» Since then, the relationship between the two men has been broken. Already in February, Carvajal was the author of a tackle from behind in training on the young Víctor Valdepeñas. Verdict: one month of absence for a knee injury.
The 34-year-old veteran is not the only one to have alienated his coach. Raul Asencio also has a strained relationship dating back to the first leg against Manchester City where he suffered a serious whiplash. He was put on bed rest but returned to help out only nine days later. Substitute during the return against the Cityzens, he expressed his dissatisfaction. In the following match against Elche, and when he was announced as the starter, he claimed muscle pain with a medical certificate, forcing Rüdiger to play when he was supposed to be resting. Since this episode, the defender has hardly appeared. The situation is even worse for Dani Ceballos, who is awaiting his departure at the end of the season. “I always play the players I deem appropriate», Estimated Arbeloa.
The Rüdiger/Carreras episode, the Mbappé episodes
Other events took place in training such as between Antonio Rüdiger and Alvaro Carreras. Here too, it happened in two stages. The first took place three months ago, the day after the publication of a group photo at the restaurant intended to symbolize the spirit of solidarity between the players (it was missed), and a second at the beginning of May. The German then slapped his partner, very annoyed by his attitude. The left side may have denied the altercation, but the information was quickly confirmed by the Spanish media and is not surprising given the history of the former Chelsea player, never shy of provocations and borderline gestures. At the same time, Florentino Pérez received phone calls from the parents of two internationals whose playing time had been reduced.
Finally, there is the Kylian Mbappé case, almost apart. The locker room had to make room for him, in every sense of the word. Certainly, he scores goals (85 in 100 matches with Casa Blanca) but the team is unbalanced, split in two, in particular because of its poor defensive returns. His partners notice of course. He is credited with having particularly stormy relationships with Jude Bellingham. Recently, there was this episode where the French insulted a member of the staff. Before that, there had been the controversy over his “bad knee” injury, then this last physical glitch in his thigh. He was still authorized by his club to take leave in Italy, which caused controversy more for the form than for the substance. He should also make his return to the group at the Camp Nou where, fortunately, the Madrilenians will not have to make the pasillo…
