Fede Valverde (valverde) was taken to hospital after a new confrontation with Aurélien Tchouaméni at Real Madrid's training ground that ended in a serious dressing-room fight, club sources say.
The incident began before the morning session when Valverde refused to shake Tchouaméni's hand. Team members say Valverde made hard challenges repeatedly during training, and the tension carried into the locker room after practice, where the clash escalated into shoves and a wider altercation.
Several people had to intervene, according to those inside the changing room. Valverde suffered a strong contusion that caused a cut and was taken to hospital for treatment. Sources who spoke after the event said the cut was not caused by a Tchouaméni blow.
Members of the dressing room described the episode as "el más grave jamás vivido en Valdebebas." Miguel Serrano delivered a blunt summation inside the squad, calling someone "mal capitán."
The club reacted within hours. José Ángel Sánchez attended an urgent meeting shortly after the fight, and Real Madrid opened disciplinary proceedings against the two players involved. No player left the Ciudad Deportiva during the crisis meeting, officials say.
Reportage described the physicality in the clash at Valdebebas as ending with shoves, and said several people had to step between the players to stop the fight. Despite the severity, the immediate internal response was contained to the training ground and the ensuing executive meeting.
Beyond the violence of the episode, the story matters because it exposes deeper divisions. Sources told reporters the dressing room is split into factions. Article 3 reports that at least six players have stopped speaking to coach Álvaro Arbeloa and that veterans reproached Franco Mastantuono for not respecting locker-room hierarchies.
Article 2 frames the confrontation as a symptom of a worsening internal atmosphere after two consecutive seasons without a trophy. Those inside the club say the altercation is the most serious in memory at Valdebebas and that it has forced management to treat discipline and cohesion as immediate priorities.
The tension in the squad shows contradictions. On one hand, the club moved quickly to convene leadership and begin formal proceedings against two players. On the other, players remained in the same facility while sources describe factions and silence toward the coach, indicating disciplinary measures alone may not mend underlying fractures.
What happens next is concrete: the club’s disciplinary process will determine sanctions for the two players and how the squad is reassembled. The disciplinary proceedings are the lever the club has opened; whether they will close the rift in the dressing room is the pressing unanswered question.
