Normally in May, there are plenty of eyes on Real Madrid as the season comes to an end, but this week the focus of the media has been trained on Valdebebas for all the wrong reasons. After several days of leaked stories about the malcontent in the dressing room, it all came to a head during a fight between Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni on Thursday.
The French midfielder attended training as normal on Friday, but Real Madrid have opened a disciplinary investigation into both players. Valverde, who suffered a head injury during the fight, has been ruled out for the next two weeks as a result. The Uruguayan has claimed that he was not hit, nor did anyone hit him, but this clashes with all other reporting on the matter.
Real Madrid dressing room feel Valverde caused fight
The 27-year-old has come out of the incident worse in many regards. Beyond his injury, Valverde received heavy criticism for the statement that he put out, which at times contradicts itself. Cadena SER say that many Real Madrid players believe that Valverde crossed the line with Tchouameni in his behaviour, incessantly accusing him of leaking a story to the press.
While they do not justify Tchouameni’s behaviour, they say that there is far more disappointment with Valverde for his. The Athletic back up this reporting, and say that Valverde has ‘been like this all year’, and that his attitude has been ‘unworthy of a captain’, a message they received from multiple sources.
Fede Valverde expected to receive heavier sanction
The club also appear to be more disappointed in the Uruguayan than Tchouameni. While both are expected to receive sanctions, the early indications are that Valverde’s could be heavier. The fact that Valverde is the vice-captain adds more responsibility to his role in the dressing room, and as such, he should not have been involved in the matter.
With captain Dani Carvajal injured, after Arbeloa, Valverde was in theory the most senior figure of authority present in training on Thursday. Valverde seems unlikely to feature again this season, with his head injury ruling him out of all but their final game of the season at home to Athletic Club.