Tag: Valverde

Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said Aurelien Tchouameni will be in his team’s squad to face Barcelona on Sunday in La Liga, despite his confrontation with team-mate Fede Valverde.

The Uruguay captain was treated in hospital for a head injury and will miss up to a fortnight while he recovers, after the two players argued at the end of training on Thursday.

Real Madrid fined France international Tchouameni and Valverde on Friday and said both midfielders had apologised to each other and the club, fans, staff and team-mates.

If Real Madrid fail to beat Barcelona, the Catalans will be crowned Spanish champions for a second consecutive season.

“Tomorrow Tchouameni will be in the squad,” Arbeloa told reporters, when asked about the Frenchman’s availability for the Clasico at Camp Nou.

Arbeloa, who replaced Xabi Alonso in January of a troubled season for Madrid, said he had accepted both players’ apologies for the incident.

“I’m very proud of the club’s decisiveness, speed, and transparency, and that the players have acknowledged their mistake, expressed their regret, accepted the consequences of what they have done, and asked for forgiveness,” said Arbeloa.

“For me, that’s enough. What I’m not going to do is burn them at the stake in public, because they don’t deserve that… because of what they’ve shown me over these four months and over these years.

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“They’ve shown they understand what it means to be a Real Madrid player, their commitment, their effort, their love for the shirt, and I’m not going to forget that.”

Arbeloa said what was more troubling to him was that somebody would leak the details of the row to the media.

“That things are leaked that happened in the dressing room, to me is a betrayal of Real Madrid and the club badge,” said the coach.

Arbeloa was at Liverpool in 2007 when Welsh striker Craig Bellamy hit team-mate John Arne Riise with a golf club. A few days later, Bellamy celebrated scoring against Barcelona at Camp Nou in the Champions League with a golf swing celebration.

“I had a team-mate who smacked another one with a golf club,” remembered Arbeloa.

“For me, the thing that hurts me the most is that what happens in the Real Madrid dressing room should stay in the Real Madrid dressing room.

“Situations that don’t represent Real Madrid, or any club, situations that shouldn’t happen between teammates, have always happened, everywhere, but I’m not justifying it.”

Arbeloa added that it was “not easy” for the players to be at Real Madrid and on the verge of not winning a major trophy for two consecutive seasons.

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Real Madrid announced on Friday that they had fined Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde 500,000 euros ($588,000) each after a training ground clash that left the latter needing hospital treatment.

The club did not impose any sporting sanctions on the two players, saying in a statement that the fine “thereby concludes the internal procedures” launched against them.

Valverde will miss Sunday’s Clasico against Barcelona as a result of the head injury he suffered during the altercation. The club said he would be out for up to two weeks.

Tchouameni took part in training on Friday and could feature at Camp Nou this weekend.

Real Madrid said both players “expressed their complete remorse for what happened and apologised to each other” while taking part in a club investigation.

“They extended their apologies to the club, their teammates, the coaching staff, and the fans, and both have made themselves available to Real Madrid to accept whatever sanction the club deems appropriate,” read a club statement.

Uruguay international Valverde was accompanied to the hospital facility near the club’s Valdebebas training complex by Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa, according to Spanish reports, which stated that the player required stitches to treat a facial wound.

Uruguay midfielder Valverde sought to downplay the severity of the altercation with the France midfielder.

“The strain of the competition and frustration caused the situation to escalate,” Valverde wrote on social media, expressing regret at the media coverage of the incident.

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“I accidentally hit a table during the argument, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital,” he said.

“At no point did my team-mate hit me, and I didn’t hit him either.”

Tchouameni admitted that what had happened was far from acceptable.

“Regardless of who is right and who is wrong, we should always look for a peaceful resolution to any dispute,” said the Frenchman.

“There’s no point going on about who did what or who said what, and I accept the fine,” he said. “Now we have to move forward and play this Clasico and make sure the club does as well as is still possible.”

According to reports, the two players clashed on Wednesday during training, and their argument continued on Thursday, both during and after the session.

Spanish media reported Valverde refused to shake Tchouameni’s hand and later fouled him in Thursday’s training session, with the pair scrapping afterwards in the dressing room when the injury occurred.

Tensions are running high at Real Madrid with the club on the verge of a second consecutive season without a major trophy.

Los Blancos trail Barca by 11 points at the top of La Liga, with Hansi Flick’s side able to clinch back-to-back league titles on Sunday if they do not lose.

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Federico Valverde’s heavily deflected 95th-minute drive snatched injury-hit Real Madrid a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo in La Liga on Friday.

The Uruguayan midfielder needed a stroke of fortune at the death to pull his team to within one point of leaders Barcelona, who visit Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Aurelien Tchouameni opened the scoring for Los Blancos early on, but Borja Iglesias soon pulled Celta level at their Balaidos stadium.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid, without injured striker Kylian Mbappe, had lost their previous two league games and are struggling to find consistent form.

Valverde’s shot, which flew into Celta’s net after bouncing off former Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso, stopped his side from going three consecutive La Liga matches without a win.

“There’s a long way to go in La Liga, a lot of points left to play for… at this point it’s almost like La Liga has not started yet,” Arbeloa told reporters.

“Every game you’re playing against a team that has their own objectives, and each game will be a war.

“We came here with 10 players out, so I think our win deserves a lot of credit.”

As well as French superstar Mbappe, the team’s top goalscorer, Arbeloa was without several other players, including Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo Goes and Eduardo Camavinga.

Despite the victory, Madrid’s form and their injury list does not inspire confidence ahead of next week’s Champions League last 16 clash against Manchester City.

Arbeloa started 18-year-old midfielder Thiago Pitarch for the first time, and he offered a decent display even as his team failed to impress.

Iglesias forced Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into a solid low save with a drive from the edge of the box in the opening exchanges.

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Arbeloa’s side started well, and Vinicius Junior struck the post before Tchouameni put them ahead in the 11th minute.

The French midfielder produced a fine finish from the edge of the box as Madrid worked a corner to him, his strike hitting the upright on its way in.

Celta were not discouraged, though, and some poor defending from Trent Alexander-Arnold let them back in.

The England international allowed Williot Swedberg to get in behind him and then lacked the agility to block off the Swede, who cut the ball across for Iglesias to finish.

Courtois made a good save to keep Swedberg at bay before the break, as sixth-place Celta largely gave as good as they got.

Madrid appealed for a penalty when Ferran Jutgla handled the ball in the box, but a VAR review showed there was a push on a Celta defender just before and no spot kick was awarded.

Celta substitute Iago Aspas hit the post late on, and it seemed like his team were destined for a point as the clock ticked down.

However, in the final minute of stoppage time, Valverde’s effort from the edge of the box hit Alonso and left Celta goalkeeper Ionut Radu wrong-footed.

“We hardly gave up any chances, and the shot at the end was well defended, so we’re a bit annoyed (to lose),” Iglesias told Movistar.

Arbeloa said he hoped Madrid’s determination to claim the three points could be a platform to build from going forward.

“I know we can do a lot of things better, but with the personality and character we showed today, I hope that this is a turning point and from here everything goes a lot better,” added Arbeloa.

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