A fight between Real Madrid teammates Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni reportedly resulted in Valverde needing to be taken to a hospital, according to ESPN.
The bust-up during Thursday’s training session comes three days before El Clásico against their rivals Barcelona. It was reported by Marca that Valverde and Tchouaméni were also involved in an altercation during training on Wednesday.
What caused the teammates to go at it? The tension reportedly stems back to when Xabi Alonso was managing the club at the beginning of the season. A training match was physical with words being exchanged between the two. Afterward, Valverde confronted Tchouaméni in the changing room and came to blows.
Valverde reportedly needed stitches after suffering a cut following a fall into a table inside the team’s dressing room at their training facility.
According to The Athletic, Real Madrid is expected to take action, but it is unclear what specific punishment will be handed out.
Sunday’s El Clásico isn’t just another meeting of the rivals. Barcelona needs a win or draw against Real Madrid to clinch their second straight La Liga title and third in four seasons.
Following reports of Wednesday’s incident, Barcelona’s social media team didn’t miss a chance to needle their rivals.
One big family 🫶 pic.twitter.com/PeByf2MfKd
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 6, 2026
It’s been a frustrating season at Real Madrid. Los Blancos will go trophy-less and the Valverde/Tchouaméni incident was reportedly not the first moment of disharmony.
Last week, ESPN reported that Antonio Rüdiger was involved in an altercation with an unnamed teammate. It was likely fellow defender Álvaro Carreras, who confirmed that he had a confrontation with a teammate this season. It was also reported that manager Álvaro Arbeloa, who replaced Alonso in January, had disagreements with several players, including Dani Ceballos and Raúl Asencio.
Arbeloa’s staff have also reportedly had friction with star forward Kylian Mbappé.
Real Madrid, who are second in the league table 11 points behind Barcelona, will have three more matches following Sunday's El Clásico. It will mark only their second season without a trophy since 2010.
