A growing sense of inharmony exploded into chaos on Thursday night, following reports of a fight between teammates Aurelien Tchouameni<\/a> and Federico Valverde<\/a>. <\/p>\n Real Madrid confirmed the nature of Valverde\u2019s head injury, before the club said disciplinary proceedings have been opened against both players. <\/p>\n An emergency meeting with president Florentino Perez<\/a> was called at the club\u2019s training ground. And now the eyes of the football world wait to see what comes next. <\/p>\n What happened between Valverde and Tchouameni? <\/p>\n On Wednesday, reports emerged from Real Madrid\u2019s Valdebebas training round of a dispute between Tchouameni, the France midfielder, and Valverde, the Uruguay international and Madrid vice-captain. It was said to have carried on into the dressing room. <\/p>\n The following day, Valverde reportedly approached Tchouameni and accused him of leaking the argument to the press. Tchouameni denied it, but they refused to shake hands, according to AS<\/a>. With tensions high, there were heavy challenges between Valverde and Tchouameni during training. <\/p>\n The report from AS claims Valverde continued to accuse Tchouameni of leaking the story. Tchouameni is then said to have hit Valverde, causing him to fall and hit his head. He was then taken to hospital for treatment on a cut that required stitches. <\/p>\n What did Valverde say afterwards? <\/p>\n In a lengthy post on Instagram, Valverde confirmed that he had been involved in a disagreement with a teammate but denied \u201ccoming to blows\u201d. He said he \u201caccidentally hit a table, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital\u201d. <\/p>\n “At no point did my teammate hit me, nor did I hit him, although I understand it may be easier for people to believe that we got into a fist-fight or that it was intentional, but that did not happen,\u201d Valvarde said, adding that the \u201cfatigue of competition and frustration make everything seem bigger than it is\u201d.<\/p>\n But what had Real Madrid said? <\/p>\n The club confirmed that it had opened \u201cdisciplinary proceedings\u201d against Valverde and Tchouameni following the incidents in training on Thursday morning. \u201cThe club will announce the outcomes of both cases in due course, once the relevant internal procedures have been completed,\u201d Madrid added. <\/p>\n It also issued an update confirming Valverde\u2019s injury and ruling him out of Sunday\u2019s El Cl\u00e1sico against Barcelona. They said he had been diagnosed with \u201ccranioencephalic trauma\u201d, or a head trauma. \u201cValverde is at home and in good condition; he will need to rest for between 10 and 14 days, in line with medical protocols for this diagnosis.\u201d <\/p>\n What else is happening at Real Madrid? <\/p>\n This was not the first time reports have surfaced on training ground tensions in recent weeks. Antonio Rudiger and teammate Alvaro Carreras were said to have been involved in a heated argument in training, with Rudiger apologising and Carreras confirming on social media that a \u201cone-off incident of no significance\u201d had been \u201cresolved\u201d. <\/p>\n The Athletic <\/a>reported that star striker Kylian Mbappe<\/a> also clashed with a member of head coach Alvaro Arbeloa\u2019s coaching staff during training before the 1-1 draw at Real Betis last month, with Mbappe reacting angrily to being called offside by the coach, who was acting as an assistant referee during an exercise. <\/p>\n Further tensions over Kylian Mbappe<\/p>\n Mbappe has been sidelined since injuring his hamstring in the 1-1 draw at Real Betis and the France forward sparked controversy after going on holiday to Sardinia with his girlfriend during his recovery period, with photos of Mbappe on a yaught surfacing last weekend while Real Madrid were playing against Espanyol. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, an online \u201cMbappe Out\u201d petition was started by this week, and it has received millions of signatures already. Some Real Madrid fans are angry by suggestions that Mbappe is protecting himself for this summer\u2019s World Cup, although there is a chance he returns to Sunday\u2019s Clasico at Barcelona. <\/p>\n In the wake of the criticism, Mbappe\u2019s representatives released a statement this week insisting he remains fully committed to his recovery. The statement said the criticism did not reflect \u201cthe reality of Kylian\u2019s commitment and the work he puts in every day for the team\u201d. <\/p>\n The story of Real Madrid\u2019s season <\/p>\n Real Madrid are heading for their second trophyless season in a row. Barcelona are 11 points clear of them in LaLiga and will be crowned champions with a draw against Real Madrid in the Clasico on Sunday. And, in the 97 years of LaLiga, the title has never been won in this fixture. <\/p>\n This has been a troubled season for Madrid, who sacked former midfielder Xabi Alonso in January after just a few months in charge amid reports that Madrid\u2019s star players did not want to engage with Alonso\u2019s strict tactical instructions<\/a>. Not for the first time, club president Florentino Perez sided with the dressing room. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Madrid have still not found a way to successfully accommodate Mbappe, Vinicius Jr<\/a> and Jude Bellingham<\/a> in the same team, leading to further reports of tension between the team\u2019s three biggest stars. <\/p>\n![\"Real](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2273331333.jpg\")
Real Madrid have opened \u2018disciplinary proceedings\u2019 against Federico Valverde (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Mbappe](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2273051755.jpg\")
Mbappe could return to face Barcelona (Getty)<\/p>\n