Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa has insisted he will not ‘publicly crucify’ his players following Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni’s training ground altercation, but admitted he blames himself for the club’s situation.
Valverde and Tchouameni have both been hit with €500,000 fines – around £430,000 – for their roles in a training ground altercation on Thursday that left the former in hospital.
Spanish outlets had revealed that a clash that started the previous day had spilled over into a physical confrontation.
Valverde had reportedly refused to shake Tchouameni’s hand, according to the Athletic, despite doing so with the rest of the group. Then, in a training session, the team captain flew into a number of increasingly forceful challenges with his rival.
Drawn into the same team for a contest later in the session, Valverde is then thought to have implied that Tchouameni was lucky not to be facing off with him, before things took a more physical turn.
Valverde is believed to have insulted the Frenchman before he was struck. As the pair scrapped, the former hit a table, causing a cut which bled and briefly losing consciousness, which sparked deep concern from team-mates including Tchouameni.
Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were fined by Real Madrid after their training ground altercation this week
Alvaro Arbeloa insisted he would not ‘crucify’ the players in public as the Real Madrid boss took the blame for their current struggles
Valverde had insisted on social media on Thursday that neither he nor Tchouameni had thrown a punch.
Arbeloa has come to the defence of both players ahead of facing arch rivals Barcelona on Sunday, which Valverde will miss due to his head injury.
The Real Madrid boss, who confirmed Tchouameni is available for selection, 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.’
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.
Valverde posted a long statement on social media confirming that he and Tchouameni had not hit each other
The incident was one of a number that have rocked the Real Madrid camp ahead of their clash with rivals Barcelona
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.’
Arbeloa also came out in defence of Kylian Mbappe, with the Real Madrid star having come under fire from fans in recent weeks.
Mbappe had also been seen apparently laughing to himself as he drove away from their training base on Thursday, the day Valverde and Tchouameni’s clash occurred.
The Frenchman has also faced scrutiny for holidaying on a yacht with his girlfriend while recovering from injury, while he was accused in the Spanish press of becoming involved in a heated confrontation with a member of Arbeloa’s staff.
Arbeloa defended Kylian Mbappe as he insisted his laughter leaving training on Thursday had been ‘taken out of context’
‘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.’
Real Madrid’s nightmare week could get worse on Sunday with Arbeloa’s side requiring a victory over Barcelona to delay the Catalans from winning a second successive LaLiga title.
Barcelona head into the match 11 points clear of Real Madrid, with both teams having just four matches remaining of the campaign.
