It has been an eventful week for the Spanish media, especially in terms of their coverage of the internal politics in the Real Madrid dressing room.
Contrary to what is seen on the field, there appear to be several rifts among players in the squad, with altercations on the training field now becoming commonplace.
One such rift reported in recent days was the fight between Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Carreras, which led to the former slapping the new signing, something he reportedly later apologised to the entire squad for.
Not just once
As confirmed by El Chiringuito in a recent report, the incident between Carreras and Rudiger took place over a month ago. It was then that the defender apologised for his actions.
That, however, was not the end of the story, and the friction between the two players flared up again two weeks ago.
Once again, it was Rudiger as the offending party and Carreras at the receiving end.
Rudiger had a rift with Carreras. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)
Two weeks ago, Rudiger began yelling at Carreras and scolding and berating him in training, in the presence of all the players.
His insults got to a point where the players themselves had to intervene and tell him that he had gone too far and that he must apologise.
What is clear from the development, needless to say, is that there is a lack of respect and harmony within the dressing room. The image of the club that it paints is exceedingly poor.
There is a serious need to keep players in check, to supervise them and ensure sanctions when a party goes overboard, as Rudiger did twice.
The dressing room may be mature, but the need for a leading manager is real.
