🎙️ All fine despite the bust-up?!?! Arbeloa plays down Real chaos | OneFootball

There are situations in which we really wouldn’t want to trade places with other people. Real Madrid’s somewhat controversial head coach Álvaro Arbeloa is certainly one of them right now.

Before the Clásico against FC Barcelona, in which Madrid’s biggest rival could also wrap up the title on top of everything else, Arbeloa had to face the press amid the Mbappé chaos and a dressing-room brawl.

“I’m very proud of the club’s consistency, speed, and transparency. And of the fact that the players admitted their mistake, showed remorse, and apologized. For me, that’s enough,” Arbeloa explained. So it appears the two players no longer have to fear any consequences from him.

“Valverde and Tchouaméni deserve for us to look ahead now and give them the chance to keep fighting for this club. I’m very proud of them. I will not allow this to be used to question their professionalism: it is a lie that they are not professionals or that they treated me disrespectfully. That is absolutely false,” he said, standing by his players despite everything.

📸 PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU - AFP or licensors

The coach also confirmed that Tchouaméni will be in the squad for the Clásico. Valverde, meanwhile, is out for the time being (presumably due to injuries from the fight).

Arbeloa also denied reports of problems with some players, including Dani Carvajal:

“It is a lie that anyone is not playing because of problems with me or because of his life outside Real Madrid. I am the first to take responsibility for the fact that the season has probably not lived up to expectations. What I will not do is publicly sacrifice the players, because they do not deserve that.” In his view, the atmosphere in the dressing room is still a “healthy” one.

Mbappé’s attitude a problem?

Superstar Mbappé was recently criticized because he was photographed in a good mood despite the tense atmosphere around training. Too cheerful? Definitely not — if his coach is to be believed.

“Anyone trying to take a player smiling after training out of context is twisting reality. I can only speak about him, his work, and the way he behaves toward me. If he has played, it is because he deserved it, and if not, it is because someone else deserved it more,” Arbeloa said about the ongoing discussion surrounding superstar Mbappé’s behavior.

Leak in the team?

“The fact that things from the dressing room are getting out is, to me, a betrayal of Real Madrid and its badge,” the Madrid head coach condemned the obvious leaks within the club through which information about the unrest in the team reached the public, but immediately added: “I am accusing neither my players nor anyone else. There are many people at Real Madrid, and I am not here to point the finger at anyone. What happens with my players stays between them and me.”

What do you make of Arbeloa’s statement? Was it the right way to frame things, or should the head coach also have used stronger words? Feel free to write it in the comments!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 OSCAR DEL POZO - AFP or licensors