Real Madrid star Federico Valverde has hit out at some of the rumours and exaggeration going on about his reported fight with teammate Aurelien Tchouameni.
Valverde’s physical fight with Tchouameni, which put the Uruguay international in hospital with a head injury, has been widely reported by Marca and others in the last 24 hours.
However, Valverde himself has attempted to play down the incident to a certain extent, even if he confirmed that there was a row inside the dressing room.
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The 27-year-old has released a statement on Instagram insisting that this kind of thing happens a lot and is not normally leaked to the press, suggesting perhaps that someone malicious inside the club is deliberately spreading rumours.
Federico Valverde plays down Aurelien Tchouameni row rumours
See below for Valverde’s post on Instagram as he attempted to clear up the situation…
Valverde said: “At no point did my team-mate hit me, and I didn’t hit him either, although I understand it’s easier for you to believe we came to blows or that it was intentional, but that didn’t happen.
“I feel that my anger about the situation, my frustration at seeing some of us struggling to get through the end of the season on our last legs, giving it our all, pushed me to the point of arguing with a team-mate.
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry because this situation hurts me, this moment we’re going through is painful. Real Madrid is one of the most important things in my life, and I can’t just turn a blind eye to it.
“The result is a build-up of things that culminate in a senseless fight, damaging my image and leaving room for doubt – for people to fabricate stories, slander me, and sensationalise an incident.
“I have no doubt that any disagreements we might have off the field ceases to exist on it, and if I have to defend the team inside a stadium, I’ll be the first to do so.”
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He added: “In a normal locker room, these things can happen and are usually resolved internally without it becoming public knowledge.
“Clearly, someone here is spreading rumours, and with a season without titles, where Real Madrid is always under scrutiny, everything gets blown out of proportion.”
What’s going on at Real Madrid?
It’s been a difficult season for Real Madrid, who are set to finish trophyless, while their bitter rivals Barcelona will most likely wrap up the La Liga title against them in the upcoming El Clasico clash.
Xabi Alonso was hired as manager last summer, but struggled to live up to expectations, and ended up leaving the role, while interim manager Alvaro Arbeloa has perhaps also had issues stamping his authority on this squad.
“The Valverde-Tchouameni tension is not something that we have heard about before this week, but it is symptomatic of a volcanic dressing room right now,” Ruairidh Barlow, editor of Football Espana, told us.
“In that specific incident, after a fight on Wednesday, Valverde reportedly refused to shake Tchouameni’s hand, which led to another training session of intense tackles, and culminated in the fight.
“More widely, it’s just the latest incident in a number of feuds ongoing. As many as six players are supposedly not talking to manager Alvaro Arbeloa. Dani Ceballos, Raul Asencio and Dani Carvajal have all fallen out with Arbeloa, and the latter’s frustration led to an injury to a youth player after a rash tackle.
“In the past week, we’ve heard about Kylian Mbappe getting angry at a member of the coaching staff, and Antonio Rudiger getting physical with Alvaro Carreras too.
“On the whole, the consensus is that this is the product of a dressing room that has been without leaders for some time, and without a manager to impose authority. With President Florentino Perez backing his stars over managers, and doing little to curb their behaviour himself, the lack of discipline has descended into the chaos we’re seeing this week.”
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