Real Madrid veteran ‘demoralised’ with reduced role, going through his ‘darkest days’ at club | OneFootball

The ongoing season has been a very difficult one for Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal. After struggling with injuries during the first half of the season, the 34-year-old veteran has found minutes hard to come by since the turn of the year.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has firmly established himself as a regular starter at right-back, leaving the veteran Spaniard with a very limited role in the team.

Carvajal going through difficult time

As such, MARCA reports that Carvajal is going through his ‘darkest days’ at Real Madrid and has been ‘demoralised’ by his situation in Alvaro Arbeloa’s setup.

The loss of prominence in the team that has tested his patience and diminished his strong personality in the dressing room. So far he has played only 18 times this term (7 starts) and did not get any minutes against Mallorca and Bayern Munich over the past week.

This situation has been difficult to accept: as captain, as a highly competitive player, and as a club legend who had dominated his position without real competition since returning to Real Madrid in 2013.

Carvajal’s performances have been questioned following his recovery from a serious knee injury last season, while he had to deal with another knee problem earlier this campaign as well.

What’s happening with Carvajal?

Since returning from his latest injury on 4 January against Real Betis, playing time has become harder to come by than expected, initially under Xabi Alonso and then under Arbeloa.

No longer a regular starter. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Carvajal does not share these doubts about his form and fitness and frustration grew until it reached a breaking point in early February. After being overlooked in games against Rayo Vallecano and Valencia, he was involved in a heated exchange with Antonio Pintus.

This led to a direct meeting between player and coach to resolve tensions and clarify the situation. Following the discussion, one immediate consequence was that David Jimenez, who started vs Valencia, returned to Castilla and has not been called up since.

Despite this, Carvajal’s situation did not improve and frustration continued to grow. This is believed to have contributed to an unpleasant training incident wherein he made a heavy challenge on Victor Valdepenas, causing a knee injury that kept the youngster out for a month.

Carvajal did get to start against Atletico last month, but only because Trent was late to a training session. While it did help repair his relationship with Arbeloa somewhat, the right-back was once again left without any minutes in the last two games.

His isolation on the bench and distant expression after the defeat at Mallorca said everything. The same situation repeated against Bayern.

Given the situation, there is a growing feeling that the captain is in his final days at Real Madrid, with his contract expiring on 30 June and no renewal in sight.