Federico Valverde was taken to hospital after a fight with Aurélien Tchouaméni during Real Madrid training on Thursday, three days before Sunday’s Clasico against Barcelona. Valverde required stitches after suffering a cut in the scrap, which broke out at the end of a practice session marked by heavy challenges.
The clash followed a reported altercation a day earlier. Marca had said on Wednesday that Valverde and Tchouaméni had already been involved in a confrontation in training, and the latest incident escalated after Tchouaméni went to the changing room and Valverde later walked in looking very tense.
A second source told that Valverde kicked Tchouaméni during training, after the two players insulted each other. That source said Tchouaméni went for Valverde and hit him badly. Valverde’s entourage declined to comment, and Real Madrid did not respond when asked whether the club planned to open an investigation into either player.
The episode lands as fresh evidence of a dressing-room split at Real Madrid, where reported last Friday that bad results had already spilled into the squad and that there had been several incidents of tension since the start of the season. also reported a heated altercation involving Antonio Rüdiger at Valdebebas, a separate statement from Álvaro Carreras confirming he had clashed with a teammate, and arguments in recent weeks between manager Álvaro Arbeloa and players including Dani Ceballos and Raúl Asencio. There has also been a lack of rapport between captain Dani Carvajal and Arbeloa since the manager took over, while tensions from Xabi Alonso’s departure reportedly left friction with Vinícius Júnior, Valverde and Jude Bellingham.
For Real Madrid, the timing is the problem as much as the fight itself. The club goes to Barcelona on Sunday, and the way this flare-up has spread through the squad suggests the Clasico will arrive with the same edge already inside the dressing room.