Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni has addressed his recent dressing-room altercation with teammate Federico Valverde for the first time. He acknowledged that “things happened,” but he emphasized that the situation has been “blown out of proportion” and that there is currently “no issue” between them.
Following their confrontation at the club’s training ground earlier this month, Madrid imposed a fine of €500,000 on both players. Sources indicated that the clash followed two days of rising tension.
While Tchouaméni is on international duty with France in preparations for the World Cup, Valverde, who was taken to the hospital for treatment of a forehead cut and a concussion following the incident, was included in Uruguay‘s squad on Sunday.
“Naturally, there were events that occurred, which were widely reported,” Tchouaméni stated to reporters at France’s training camp in Clairefontaine on Sunday. “However, it was exaggerated in the media, and playing for Real Madrid tends to amplify such reactions. A lot of misinformation circulated. I saw claims that I had punched him, which is simply not true.”
– Liverpool prepares to initiate discussions with Andoni Iraola this week
– Gabriel: Arsenal’s Champions League final penalty shootout loss is ‘painful’
– Man United’s Tyler Fletcher replaces Billy Gilmour in Scotland’s World Cup squad
“I won’t go into further details. What matters most is that the club understood our situation. Many things happen in the locker room that don’t get reported. Life continues. Fede and I share a common objective: winning titles with Real Madrid. There are no personal issues between us at this time.”
The incident involving Tchouaméni and Valverde is one of several behind-the-scenes occurrences that affected the conclusion of Madrid’s season, including a confrontation between Antonio Rüdiger and Álvaro Carreras, which the left-back described as a “one-time event that has been resolved.”