🎙️ Arbeloa: Of course it's a healthy dressing room | OneFootball

Álvaro Arbeloa has spoken to the press on the eve of tomorrow’s Clásico against Barcelona, in the midst of an unprecedented dressing-room crisis at Real Madrid.

The first-team coach gave his version of the fight between Valverde and Tchouameni, who have been disciplined and fined by the club.  "I’m very proud of the club’s firmness, speed and transparency. And then of the players having acknowledged their mistake, expressed their regret and apologized. For me, that’s enough," he said.

"Valverde and Tchouameni deserve for us to move on, to give them a chance to keep fighting for this club. I’m very proud of them. I’m not going to allow this to be used to cast doubt on their professionalism: it’s a lie that they aren’t professionals, that they have disrespected me... it’s absolutely false," he stressed.

The coach assured that Tchouameni will be included in the squad for the Clásico and that he is "very happy with the work of his four captains."

Arbeloa also denied reports about his problems with some players, such as Carvajal. "It’s a lie that any of them aren’t playing because of problems with me, or because of their life outside Real Madrid. I’m the one primarily responsible for the fact that the season probably hasn’t lived up to the required standard. But I’ve been here for four months and I’m very proud of my players."

"What I’m not going to do is burn them (the players) at the stake in public, because they don’t deserve it," Arbeloa stressed, while also stating that he sees "a healthy dressing room."

On Mbappé’s attitude

📸 Fran Santiago - 2026 Getty Images

"Anyone who wants to take a player smiling after training out of context is twisting things."

"I can only speak up for him, for his work and the way he is treating me. When he has played, it’s because he has deserved it, and when he hasn’t, it’s because someone else has deserved it more."

The leaks

"For things that happened in the dressing room to be leaked seems like a betrayal of Real Madrid and its badge to me."

"I’m not accusing my players, or anyone. There are a lot of people at Real Madrid and I’m not here to point the finger at anyone. What happens with my players will stay between them and me."

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

📸 Denis Doyle - 2026 Getty Images