Aurélien Tchouaméni (left) and Fede Valverde during a La Liga match last month. Photograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Real Madrid’s dressing room is engulfed in turmoil, and the next challenge is a crucial El Clásico against Barcelona. On Thursday, the club issued two statements disclosing an “incident in the first-team training session” involving midfielders Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, with Valverde suffering “head trauma.” It has since emerged that Valverde required stitches after a second altercation with his teammate in as many days. Following a heated exchange during Wednesday’s training at Valdebebas, Valverde accused Tchouaméni of leaking details of the argument, leading to a physical scuffle where the Uruguayan fell and struck his head on a table. One can only imagine the scene when Álvaro Arbeloa, who had stepped out for morale-boosting snacks, returned to find the situation spiraling out of control.
Real Madrid are enduring one of their darkest seasons, having won no trophies, scrapping a planned systemic rebuild under Xabi Alonso, and facing the real possibility of handing Barcelona the La Liga title in Sunday’s Clásico. Months of speculation about dressing-room discord have finally come to a head. The Valverde incident follows closely after Kylian Mbappé drew criticism for a weekend getaway to Sardinia, despite being injured, and shortly after a reported confrontation with a coach who flagged him offside. An online petition calling for Mbappé to leave Real Madrid has amassed 32 million signatures. The French forward, who has scored 41 goals in 41 games this season, issued a half-hearted statement that can be summarized as “it was really nothing.”
The atmosphere is almost as toxic as a reality TV show’s final season. Antonio Rüdiger has reportedly been involved in another training-ground row, while Vinícius Júnior has been booed by home fans. Xabi Alonso was dismissed with a record of 24 wins and 6 losses in 34 games; Arbeloa has lost 7 of his 24 matches. Since Madrid never clarified whether Arbeloa was a permanent or interim appointment, he is expected to be shown the door this summer. So who can rescue Madrid? Carlo Ancelotti is poised to sign a contract extension with Brazil, and a quick search reveals why he might not rush back to manage Madrid’s fragile egos. Instead, according to bookmakers, Florentino Pérez might turn to José Mourinho—the same Mourinho who called Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni a “victim of a smear campaign” after he was banned for abusing Vinícius Júnior, the same Mourinho who once poked Barcelona’s Tito Vilanova in the eye, the same man who can start and finish a fight in a paper bag. Maybe Pérez will reconsider and avoid hiring European football’s premier agitator, or maybe he won’t, and we’ll see Mourinho hoisting the Champions League trophy next season. Either way, it promises to be entertaining.
