Real Madrid nutritionist opens up on harassment – ‘They threatened to ruin my life’ | OneFootball

Former Real Madrid nutritionist Itziar Gonzalez de Arriba has gone public with harassment that she suffered during her time at the club. She began working with the club in the 2021-22 season, and last summer left the club after several seasons in which she clashed not only with the medical staff at the club, but those in charge of the team logisitics and those working at the Valdebebas training complex.

Gonzalez de Arriba explains that she first began working individually with Dani Carvajal and Rodrygo Goes. Following good results, she is recommended to the club, and President Florentino Perez decided to employ her as the nutritionist for the first team, a position that did not previously exist. However in an in-depth interview with Marca, Gonzalez de Arriba explained that things went wrong from the very first day.

“The medical staff created a hostile environment from the very beginning. On my first day, they told me I was there because of the president’s whim, but that they knew how to manipulate him and that he did everything they wanted, and that they were going to manipulate him into thinking I was crazy and sacking me. They didn’t introduce me, greet me, or speak to me. They never met with me, despite my repeated requests; they didn’t answer my emails or messages.”

“They only speak to me occasionally when they bump into me in the hallways to tell me I’m doing everything wrong and that the president says I shouldn’t talk to anyone, that I shouldn’t leave this gloomy little room they’ve put me in, that I shouldn’t talk to the players, that I shouldn’t do anything, that people don’t want me there, that the players are disgusted by me. The first week they accused me of stealing a whole batch of supplements, and I managed to prove my innocence, but I got scared, and from then on, I always communicated in writing so it wouldn’t happen again.”

Image via Jokin Urrazti / Marca

Gonzalez de Arriba’s clashes with Real Madrid staff

Despite encouragement from Perez on several occasions, Gonzalez de Arriba explains how she was met with roadblocks at every turn. During the interview, she details her respect for Perez, and exculpates him of any blame.

“The president himself came to tell me what he wanted me to do, which was completely different from the orders I was supposedly receiving ‘on behalf of the president.’ So I do exactly what the president asks: he wants me to implement my method there and take charge of deciding everything from the residence’s buffet to the diet on trips and in hotels, the team’s supplements, and he wants me to create a personalised diet for any players who want it, and that this can also be implemented for the rest of the teams.”

“They put all sorts of obstacles in my way to do my job: at the buffet, they serve the foods I advise against; the waitress laughs at me and constantly tells the players to ignore me, that I don’t know what I’m talking about; the cook doesn’t serve what I ask for and serves whatever he feels like, like pre-match pastries; the team manager doesn’t buy what I recommend; the guy who’s supposed to prepare the supplements serves different ones than the ones I specify; the doctors and physiotherapists tell the players not to follow my instructions, they don’t give me any information about how the players are doing or what they’re being given (medication, vitamins, etc.), even though I insist they don’t, to avoid interactions with the supplements, as it could be harmful to them…”

“They constantly laughed at me, make fun of me in the WhatsApp groups, and tell the players to take things different from what I recommend. Despite all these difficulties, most players want to follow the guidelines and many follow them at home due to the impossibility of doing so in Valdebebas.”

Image via Jokin Urrazti / Marca

False accusations

During her time at Real Madrid, Gonzalez de Arriba was also falsely accused on multiple occasions, although she does not detail what of.

“In general, there are very positive comments in the dressing room, and the medical staff can’t stand it. The doctor and the waitress at the buffet falsely accused me of something to management; I had an alibi and proved it was a false accusation. After that, they made another false accusation, which I again proved was a lie. Faced with this hostile situation, management sent me home and wouldn’t let me travel to a match against Espanyol.”

‘They told me they would humiliate me’

During the second half of last season, Gonzalez de Arriba reveals that she was prevented from entering the club facilities, and promised an internal enquiry into her treatment.

“I was called to a meeting with a sponsor, who told me he was friends with the doctors, that they’d already gotten the president to fire me, but that they were going to try to humiliate me for the rest of my time there.”

“Management prevented me from entering Valdebebas, supposedly for my own physical safety. They told me they were going to launch an internal investigation and that I shouldn’t worry and should stay calm, that they were going to fire everyone because what they’d done was intolerable. I asked to leave again, and they refused. They told me to continue doing my job from home. I told them I couldn’t just make up guidelines without knowing anything about the players, that that was malpractice, and they said I was obligated to do it.”

Image via Sport

Gonzalez de Arriba continued to be employed by Real Madrid all the same, until this past August.

“I worked in constant fear, without rest, and very frustrated because I felt like what I was doing was worthless, but I kept doing it every day without a break until the 4th of August. I also knew that the guidelines I sent out every day weren’t being followed by the Medical Services, and that they were being given different things than what I proposed.”

Gonzalez’s dismissal – ‘I was warned they would harm me’

During her dismissal from the club, Gonzalez de Arriba explained that she was threatened when she revealed she would be filing a legal complaint.

“The Human Resources director called me to thank me for my work and to tell me that they couldn’t get the doctors on board and that the Nutrition Service was being cancelled. They told me I had done an exceptional job, that I had done everything right, and that they were going to pay me the remainder of my contract. I told him that I just wanted the president and the players to know the truth, and that I demanded they retract all the lies they had told about me at the club, and, very politely, he told me that wasn’t going to be possible.”

Image via Record. Gonzalez de Arriba with fitness coach Antonio Pintus.

“I’m file a complaint even though they’re ‘advising’ me not to and telling me I have no chance of winning, and that they will ruin my life. I tell them it’s not about winning or losing, I just want the president, the players, and the people I care about to know the truth.”

Asked why she was choosing to go public with her experience now, Gonzalez de Arriba disclosed that she was hoping to break a cycle of trauma that she had suffered as a result.

“Because everyone – people on the inside, people who had no idea, family, friends, acquaintances, journalists – told me that Real Madrid has a lot of power and that they were going to twist the information against me, and that they were going to harm me physically and damage my name and reputation. But I still have nightmares every night. I want to close this chapter forever, and I feel that until I tell my story, I won’t be able to.”

Real Madrid are yet to comment on the incidents detailed above, while Gonzalez de Arriba’s legal complaint for harassment is still in the legal system.