Arbeloa calms Mbappé row, opens door to Mourinho: «He’s No 1» | OneFootball

The coach sought to ease tensions after the clash with the Frenchman and praised the Portuguese coach, as doubts over his future continue to grow. »

Álvaro Arbeloa tried to defuse the internal controversy at Real Madrid after the heated media clash with Kylian Mbappé. In a press conference, the manager downplayed the conflict with the French forward and said the relationship between them had not changed despite the statements made after the match against Oviedo.

“I just saw him now, on my way up here, and I already told him to stay calm, that I would take care of it myself”, the coach said before going deeper into the situation. As he explained, the private conversation with the striker had happened earlier, and he was not surprised by the player’s frustration at having started on the bench.

“I know Kylian wasn’t happy the other day, and I like that. I wouldn’t understand it if he didn’t want to play for Madrid”, the former defender said. He also clarified that the decision was due to the player’s physical condition after recovering from an injury and stressed that he had planned to give him more minutes against Sevilla.

The conflict erupted after the World Cup winner publicly said that the coach had told him he was “the fourth striker in the squad, behind Mastantuono, Vini and Gonzalo”. That remark caused a stir because the manager denied ever saying it and attributed the episode to a misunderstanding.

In the middle of a tense week at the Bernabéu, the Real Madrid boss rejected the idea of a dressing room out of control. “I’m not afraid of any of the conversations being made public”, he said when asked about the public exposure of the exchange with the Frenchman.

At the same time, the Spaniard left a remark that fueled rumors about the future of the Madrid bench. Asked about José Mourinho, he did not hesitate to praise the Portuguese and admitted that he would welcome his return to the Bernabéu. “I feel he is number one. He was, he is and he always will be, uno di noi”, he said of the man who coached him between 2010 and 2013. And he added: “If he is here next season, I will be very happy to see him back home”.

While Florentino Pérez also recently highlighted the Portuguese coach’s legacy, Arbeloa himself made remarks that sounded like a farewell. “These four months have been a huge learning experience”, said the coach, who emphasized his time leading the team at the highest level and left the door open to a possible departure in the short term.

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