Real Madrid: Bellingham and ‘p*ssed off’ teammate protagonists in group of 12 forcing Arbeloa sack | OneFootball

It’s four wins from four games La Liga for Alvaro Arbeloa, featuring three clean sheets, as Real Madrid have cut Barcelona’s lead at the top of the table to a single point, and yet, the noise from Spain surrounding his tenure to date and future at the club is wholly negative.

The reports – chiefly from a couple of the Spanish tabloids – speak to an opinion shared by the fans, the media and very possibly some, most or all of the players that was reached the moment he was announced as Xabi Alonso’s replacement and won’t change unless he achieves perfection: The job is too big for him.

The sack-pushing protagonist varies by the day, but we’ve collated them all for you. So here are the back-stabbers, the mutineers, the tool-downers and quite a few footballers hiding their rebellion very well indeed by playing some excellent football.

Jude Bellingham

He dismissed claims that he didn’t get on with Xabi Alonso as “a load of sh*t” and we imagine he would have similar misgivings about the new trend in negative Bellingham reportage that he’s lazy and ‘contributes nothing’.

It’s now very difficult to get through anything written about him without a reference to his ‘attitude’ – how it used to be first class and is now no better than that of Vinicius Junior or Kylian Mbappe, who are granted leeway for failing to press or track back because they never have.

Imagine, first of all, how ball-achingly frustrating it must be as a world-class footballer yourself to watch those two contribute so little in defence. Add that to the injuries Bellingham has suffered this season and it would be reasonable to grant him some leeway, if indeed there has been a drop-off in energy rather than what we suspect is a case of journalists searching for more methods to demean a young, black footballer who in their mind has got above his station. Ian Wright said it best.

Thibaut Courtois

The most fascinating aspect of the recent Bellingham hit pieces has been Thibaut Courtois’ role as the antagonist. A man famed for his composure and politeness, who we suspect has never said boo to a goose, is supposedly the guy issuing Arbeloa with demands to drop Bellingham as though the England international is some plague ‘infecting’ the Real Madrid squad.

Courtois ‘believes Bellingham’s attitude cannot continue like this’ as the midfielder ‘disconnects easily, does not work in defence and, when he is not inspired by attack, he contributes absolutely nothing to the collective’.

That’s a suspiciously specific list of issues from the newly outspoken goalkeeper, who’s also had enough of his ‘disobedience’ as he ‘seriously harms the team’.

Kylian Mbappe

The Pied Piper of ‘not a rebellion as such’, according to a report which claims ‘he is dedicated to scoring goals but nothing else’. It’s really not a rebellion, is it? That just sounds like a striker, who’s really stuck it to Arbeloa by scoring nine goals in six games for him.

Eduardo Camavinga

One of those in the reported clique of ‘core’ Real Madrid players following Mbappe – who acts as a ‘reference’ for them, whatever that means – who ‘do not believe Arbeloa has the necessary authority’ to manage the club.

Aurelien Tchouameni

Another Mbappe disciple who also has a problem with Bellingham, like Courtois because he’s ‘more attentive to offensive actions, than to his responsibilities when it comes to defending and pressing’, but also because he’s ‘constantly complaining and protesting’. Fair enough, that is quite annoying.

Arda Guler

The third Mbappe devotee who has started all but one game under Arbeloa but has completed 90 minutes just once, and let his frustration be known when he was hauled off with Madrid 3-2 down to Benfica and was pictured saying “always me, always me” as he trudged round the pitch.

Here’s a question: Why are Real Madrid players always saying “always me” or some variation? Also, with so many of them asking why it’s always them, logic dictates that it isn’t, and is just as often one of the other innumerable players making the very same claim.

Jurgen Klopp

We’re not convinced death would prevent Klopp being linked with the Real Madrid job. We can see the ‘Exhuming bombshell’ headlines now.

“I cannot say never, never, never” was akin to a come-and-get-me plea in the minds of the gossip column writers, who spuriously report on ‘secret’ meetings, detailing which players Klopp has told Florentino Perez to sign and get rid of ‘when’ – not if – he replaces Arbeloa at the Bernabeu.

Toni Kroos

You’ve got to admire the imagination of these Klopp to Madrid purveyors in drumming up fresh lines in this fantasy world they’ve created.

Aware that the German might need a translator at the Bernabeu they’ve sent Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos – a man famously happy with his retirement and life as a podcaster – for fictional ‘first talks’ with Klopp ahead of him becoming his assistant in Madrid.

Vinicius Junior

There were an increasing number of reports – burgeoning thanks to the very public apathy between Vinicius and Alonso – that Real Madrid were considering a future without the Brazilian as having both him and Mbappe in the same team was unworkable owing to their lack of defensive sh*ts and president Perez was quite keen on the ludicrous sums of money that Saudi Arabia would throw at them for his services.

Arbeloa has thrown a spanner in the works owing to his love of Vinicius and vice versa. Reports claim he’s now set to sign a new contract.

Dani Carvajal

Goals from Alvaro Carreras and Kylian Mbappe secured a 2-0 victory over Valencia on Sunday night, but the story was Carvajal, who has been available for each of Arbeloa’s seven games in charge but has featured for just 27 minutes and has seen academy graduate David Jimenez starting ahead of him at right-back as a slight too far.

It had been Federico Valverde playing out of position in his stead at right-back, with Trent Alexander-Arnold out injured, which can’t have been going down all that well with the Los Blancos legend, who is now “p*ssed off” at being snubbed in favour of a 21-year-old with three previous appearances for the first team.

“It’s very important for the players to have him as a reference point in the dressing room, and I’m sure he’ll find his best form,” Arbeloa said. Quite hard to find form when not playing, we – and presumably Carvajal himself – would suggest.

Antonio Pintus

Unai Emery