Kylian Mbappe will not front Real Madrid fans this evening with the striker left out of Alvaro Arbeloa’s squad to face Barcelona in El Clasico.
According to Marca, Mbappe, 27, stunned his team-mates at the end of Saturday’s training session by stopping suddenly, having felt discomfort in his hamstring, before announcing that he could not continue and leaving the pitch.
There had been just five minutes remaining of the training session which had gone positively – with staff optimistic about Mbappe’s chances of featuring at the Nou Camp on Sunday evening.
Mbappe has been the subject of widespread criticism from Madrid supporters after he elected to go on a yacht holiday with his new girlfriend while recovering from his hamstring injury.
That decision has infuriated fans with Madrid set to go trophyless for a second successive season, and a petition calling for the club to sell him this summer has accrued millions of signatures.
Mbappe has seemingly taken the anger in his stride, and was pictured laughing as he exited Madrid’s training ground following a chaotic day at the club – with team-mates Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni embroiled in a shocking dressing room row.
Valverde fell unconscious and cut his head, requiring hospital treatment, during the incident and both players were fined €500,000 for their roles in the controversy.
Kylian Mbappe has been left out of Real Madrid’s squad to face Barcelona in El Clasico
Mbappe caused controversy by enjoying a holiday with his girlfriend Ester Exposito in Sardinia as Real Madrid played Espanyol last weekend
Tchouaméni has been named in the squad travelling to Barcelona tonight, but there is no room for Valverde or Mbappe – despite reports this week claiming the latter was nearing a return.
The Frenchman was pictured doing ballwork at Madrid’s training base but it appears he is not ready to feature, with Los Blancos desperate to avoid handing Barcelona the title.
The Catalonians can mathematically secure LaLiga with one point this evening, with Madrid a hefty 11 points off the pace in second.
Arbeloa came to the defence of Valverde and Tchouameni on Friday.
The Real Madrid boss praised the club’s decisive action in resolving the issue and the players for apologising for the clash.
‘What I’m not going to do is publicly crucify them, because they don’t deserve it,’ Arbeloa said at his press conference. ‘They’ve shown me what it means to be a Real Madrid player over these past four months and years.
‘They’ve demonstrated what it means to be a Real Madrid player, and I won’t forget that. These two players deserve for us to turn the page, to give them an opportunity to keep fighting for this club.
‘I’m not going to allow this to be used to question their professionalism, it’s a lie that they’re unprofessional, that they’re not playing because of problems with me, and that they’ve disrespected me, it’s absolutely false.
‘I’m the one ultimately responsible for the fact that we probably haven’t lived up to expectations this season. If you want to point the finger at someone, here I am.’
Mbappe was snapped smiling as he left Madrid’s training ground during a nightmare week for the Spanish club
It was also reported this week that Antonio Rudiger ‘slapped’ his team-mate Alvaro Carreras, with the latter issuing a statement appearing to confirm the confrontation.
Arbeloa insisted that clashes between team-mates have always happened in dressing rooms, referencing the famous incident in 2007 when his then Liverpool team-mate Craig Bellamy hit John Arne-Riise with a golf club, after the Norwegian had refused to sing karaoke during a night out.
Despite the incident, Liverpool would ultimately reach the Champions League final that same season.
Arbeloa, however, has expressed concerns over leaks coming from the Real Madrid dressing room, which he stated were a ‘betrayal and disloyalty to the badge’.
‘No, I don’t work for the CIA and I’m not accusing the players, there are many people involved with Real Madrid,’ Arbeloa said, when asked if he knew who was responsible.
‘What happens with my players will remain between them and me, and we have to set an example.’
Alvaro Arbeloa defended the striker but he is not available for the game in Barcelona tonight
Arbeloa also came out in defence of Mbappe.
‘For a player to leave training smiling is taking things out of context and making them seem out of place,’ Arbeloa said.
‘In Mbappe’s case, we all know the effort he made to come to Madrid and what he gave up. We’ve all seen him in a Madrid tracksuit as a kid.
‘I feel completely within the authority of a Madrid coach, ultimately, they’re respecting the current coach, and as a player, that’s the most important thing.’
