Arbeloa says Valverde and Tchouameni apologized after the dressing room fight
Real Madrid stars Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni apologized for their dressing-room dispute, with manager Alvaro Arbeloa pushing his team to focus on Sunday’s top-of-the-table match against Barcelona.
Valverde’s head injury during the fight sidelined him for two weeks. On Friday, Real penalized both players 500,000 euros ($590,000) each for their blunder. The players apologized and requested forgiveness. That’s plenty for me. I won’t put them in the pillory because they don’t deserve it, Arbeloa told reporters.
“We should give these two players an opportunity to continue battling for the club and turn the page. I am proud of them and will not let this undermine their professionalism. They fib about not being professionals.”
Former Spain, Real, and Liverpool defender Arbeloa reported frequent dressing-room clashes, including a colleague who swung a golf club at another player. The 43-year-old is upset by what happens in the Real Madrid dressing room, which has always happened. However, he does not defend it. Unfortunately, Fede got a gash, but it was more luck than anything else.”
“If you want to blame someone, here I am,” the coach claimed responsibility.
Arbeloa claims players show no disrespect.
Arbeloa denied media accusations of Real players insulting him and underperforming, threatening a second year without a trophy. This season, we may have struggled due to my primary responsibility. After four months, the coach is glad of his players’ welcoming attitude, as impatience and rage can lead to undesirable situations. We must now focus on the match. Now we must focus there.”
Leaders Barcelona, 11 points ahead of Real, need a draw to win their second consecutive LaLiga title on Sunday.
