Mastantuono at centre of Real Madrid scandal before El Clásico | OneFootball

Real Madrid arrive at Sunday’s Clásico against Barcelona with a dressing room in tatters. Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni were involved in a violent altercation during training at Valdebebas that began with a hard challenge in a drill and escalated into shoving and an argument that continued behind closed doors. However, it was not an isolated incident: days earlier, Antonio Rüdiger and Álvaro Carreras had already had another clash. And, according to Marca, as many as six players in the squad are not speaking to coach Álvaro Arbeloa, while the team is enduring a trophyless season and is already mathematically out of the La Liga race.

The atmosphere within the group goes far beyond occasional friction. The Madrid dressing room is split into factions, and several players have cut off all personal communication with one another. The relationship with Arbeloa is another open front, as the lack of dialogue between a large part of the squad and the coach is complicating tactical operations in the final stretch of a season that is already lost in terms of titles.

Spanish journalist Miguel Serrano provided more details about the state of the group and the clash between veterans and youngsters. According to his account, Carvajal “has not had control of the dressing room; he has been a bad captain and a bad backup.” For his part, Alaba “has done his own thing, like many of the stars.” And Valverde, as second captain, “was more focused on locking horns with the coach and winning supporters than on protecting and teaching the players.”

The case of young Argentine Franco Mastantuono also came to light in this context. According to the same account, the youth player would arrive first at the training ground and take the physiotherapists’ table, ignoring the dressing room’s unwritten rule that gives priority to veterans. Mastantuono complained to Xabi Alonso about that dynamic, an episode that fueled tensions between the different generations in the squad.

Added to all this is the controversy surrounding Kylian Mbappé, who is recovering from a muscle injury. Images of the French forward traveling through Italy and Paris with actress Ester Expósito caused discomfort in the club’s offices. Arbeloa tried to play down the issue but left a phrase that no one overlooked: “There is not, nor will there ever be, a player bigger than Real Madrid itself.”

The sporting context only further complicates the picture. Madrid have 77 points from 34 La Liga matches, 11 behind leaders Barcelona, and were eliminated from the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. On Sunday, at Camp Nou, the blaugrana side need only one point to be crowned champions. In that case, the title would slip away from Madrid right in front of them. A Clásico at the worst possible emotional moment for a squad that arrives broken, without trophies and without any attempt to hide it.

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