Real Madrid players have been referring to Alvaro Arbeloa by Gerard Pique insult | OneFootball

Arguably there is no moment in Real Madrid’s 21st century history has been as dramatic as this week is. After it emerged that Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni had been involved in a fight on Thursday, the club announced an investigation into their behaviour and potential disciplinary measures.

The unfolding of the fight between Tchouameni and Valverde was seen very much as the culmination of months of tension in the dressing room. Earlier in the week, it was revealed that Alvaro Carreras and Antonio Rudiger had also been involved in a physical confrontation, while there has also been talk of a falling out between Dani Carvajal, Dani Ceballos and Raul Asencio with manager Alvaro Arbeloa.

Real Madrid players have referred to Arbeloa as ‘cone’

According to Onda Cero, the deterioration of the relationship between Arbeloa and his players is significant, and has been ongoing for some time. The Real Madrid manager was not present to separate Valverde and Tchouameni, and he has also lost the respect of many in the dressing room. Carreras was spotted laughing at Arbeloa’s decision to use Fran Garcia ahead of him against Espanyol.

Onda Cero go on to say that there are Real Madrid players that are referring to Arbeloa as ‘cone’. During games, multiple players have insulted Arbeloa with their hand over their mouth, questioning his decisions. Others on the bench have also referred to him as cone.

Arbeloa, through his staff, was made aware of this, and several players have been dropped as a result. It is worth noting that both Ceballos and Asencio have been left out of the Real Madrid squad as a technical squad in the last two months.

Background to ‘cone’ insult

The genesis of the cone insult comes from ex-Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. During an interview, Pique referred to him as a ‘cono-cido’ [acquaintance] rather than a friend, putting special emphasis on the first part of the word that means ‘cone’. Pique then used this as part of a marketing campaign on Gran Via, the main street in Madrid, in February of this year.