Real Madrid unhappy with Arbeloa’s inaction during Valverde-Tchouameni spat | OneFootball

The tension within Real Madrid’s dressing room reached a boiling point during today’s training session, as Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were involved in a major bust-up that got physical and led to the former paying a visit to the hospital.

The two had already been involved in a verbal confrontation on Wednesday, but things escalated to a whole new level today.

Arbeloa’s inactivity concerns Real Madrid

And, according to AS, Real Madrid are far from pleased with manager Alvaro Arbeloa and his inaction during the training session, allowing the issue to escalate to such degree.

As previously reported, Valverde spent the entire training session accusing Tchouaméni of leaking details regarding their Wednesday’s altercations to the press.

The second club captain was relentless in his verbal pursuit of the French midfielder, repeatedly blaming him for the media firestorm that followed their dressing-room spat earlier this week.

The confrontation created a deeply uncomfortable environment for the rest of the squad as they attempted to prepare for Sunday’s El Clasico.

However, the most significant fallout from the session concerns the conduct of manager Arbeloa.

Arbeloa failed to get a handle over the situation. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Despite the constant verbal barbs and the obvious risk of a physical flare-up, Arbeloa remained entirely passive.

The head coach did not intervene, issue a warning, or attempt to mediate the dispute, even when Valverde was making strong challenges on Tchouameni, allowing the tense atmosphere to persist throughout the tactical drills.

The manager did help Valverde after the physical brawl inside the dressing room, accompanying him to the hospital to get stitches on the cut on his face.

Nevertheless, this perceived lack of leadership has not gone down too well the Real Madrid board.

As already reported, the club’s hierarchy believes that the manager must command the dressing room, especially in a crisis of this magnitude, and that both Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso have failed to do so.

With president Florentino Perez already forced to personally intervene in the dispute, the pressure on Arbeloa is now at an all-time high as his tenure drags towards a disappointing end.