It has been a dismal campaign for Real Madrid, who are set to go a second season in a row without a major trophy. Their managerial situation has epitomised their situation – Xabi Alonso unable to stamp his own authority prior to his exit, and current head coach Alvaro Arbeloa is now starting to lose the dressing room.
Arbeloa managed to build a good rapport with the Real Madrid squad during the first few months of his tenure, but things have started to go pear-shaped. His clashes with a number of players have led to rising tensions at Valdebebas, and according to El Mundo, the situation is already at boiling point.
How did these tensions arise?
In the last few weeks, Arbeloa has reportedly clashed with club captain Dani Carvajal, Raul Asencio, Alvaro Carreras and Dani Ceballos, with the latter having been made unavailable for selection for the time being. The thing they all have in common is that they are homegrown players, and according to the report, the general feeling is that they have been neglected by their manager.
This group believes Arbeloa has preferred to give praise to the club’s superstar players and also the homegrown talent that has come through this season, but he has not done similar with the likes of Carvajal, Asencio and Ceballos. Because of this, relationship within the squad have started to break down.
Real Madrid players bemused by Mbappe conduct
The situation has also been escalated by Kylian Mbappe, who has missed the last couple of weeks with a hamstring injury. Several members of the Real Madrid dressing room have raised their eyebrows at his antics over the last week, which has included travelling around parts of Europe with actress girlfriend Ester Exposito. And what’s likely to cause more tensions is that Arbeloa publicly defended the Frenchman in the aftermath of Sunday’s victory over Espanyol.
The situation makes it very clear that a change of management will be needed at Real Madrid this summer. Whether Arbeloa was right in any of his stances or not are irrelevant, as his apparent poor relations with several members of the squad mean that it would not be wise if he continued – and the fact he’s gone trophyless also goes against him.
