"Unacceptable..." - Aurelien Tchouameni breaks silence on fight with Federico Valverde | OneFootball

Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has broken his silence on his reported fight with Federico Valverde with a statement on Instagram.

The France international did not directly address Valverde in his social media post, but mainly focused on apologising to Real Madrid fans for the incident in the club’s locker room.

Valverde released a statement of his own, suggesting there had also been some rumours overplaying what took place, though Marca and others have all reported on a physical altercation that led to the Uruguay international needing hospital treatment.

Tchouameni now seems keen to move on and focus on the future, with the 26-year-old making it clear that he wanted to say sorry to the club’s supporters, making it clear that he knows what happened was unacceptable.

Aurelien Tchouameni statement in full

“What happened this week in training is unacceptable – I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school. No matter who is right or wrong, we should always look for the calmest solution to resolve a conflict,” he said.

Aurelien Tchouameni’s statement on Instagram

“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club. I know the fans, the staff, my teammates, the management, everyone is deeply disappointed by the way this season has unfolded. But frustration cannot excuse everything. These incidents, even if they can happen in any dressing room, are not worthy of Real Madrid. Especially since Real Madrid is the most talked-about club in the world.

“Anyway, now is no longer the time to figure out who did what, who said what, or who was right or wrong. I acknowledge the club’s sanction and I accept it.We remain family, with disagreements at times but we must always put our objectives above everything else. I apologized to the group and I also want to extend my apologies to all Madridistas.”

What next for Real Madrid?

While the Tchouameni and Valverde row may be behind us, it’s clear there are big problems at Real Madrid this season.

Xabi Alonso didn’t last long as manager, and interim Alvaro Arbeloa has seemingly struggled with a lack of authority over these players, Spanish football expert Ruairidh Barlow told CaughtOffside.

“The Valverde-Tchouameni tension is not something that we have heard about before this week, but it is symptomatic of a volcanic dressing room right now,” the Football Espana editor said.

“In that specific incident, after a fight on Wednesday, Valverde reportedly refused to shake Tchouameni’s hand, which led to another training session of intense tackles, and culminated in the fight.

“More widely, it’s just the latest incident in a number of feuds ongoing. As many as six players are supposedly not talking to manager Alvaro Arbeloa. Dani Ceballos, Raul Asencio and Dani Carvajal have all fallen out with Arbeloa, and the latter’s frustration led to an injury to a youth player after a rash tackle.

“In the past week, we’ve heard about Kylian Mbappe getting angry at a member of the coaching staff, and Antonio Rudiger getting physical with Alvaro Carreras too.

“On the whole, the consensus is that this is the product of a dressing room that has been without leaders for some time, and without a manager to impose authority. With President Florentino Perez backing his stars over managers, and doing little to curb their behaviour himself, the lack of discipline has descended into the chaos we’re seeing this week.”

It seems clear that a major cultural change is needed at the Bernabeu, and that this is not just about a one-off incident between individuals.