Alvaro Arbeloa has developed a strong relationship with the vast majority of the Real Madrid squad since he took over as manager in January. However, there are exceptions to this rule, and the latest involves another star on the periphery at the Bernabeu.
In recent weeks, Arbeloa had a spat with Raul Asencio, which led to the young defender sitting out a couple of matches. He’s also had issues with club captain Dani Carvajal, and now a new rift has developed with another of his fellow Spaniards in Dani Ceballos, who has had a tough season in 2025-26.
As revealed by Javier Herráez (via Cadena SER), Arbeloa’s decision to drop Ceballos for Friday’s 1-1 draw at Real Betis was brought about by a rift that the pair had over the midfielder’s lack of prominence since returning from a recent injury.
“Today he was not called up because he had a disagreement with the coach. He was injured and he understands that he deserved more minutes than Arbeloa has given him.”
Ceballos set for Real Madrid departure in the summer
Because of this situation with Arbeloa, it appears unlikely that Ceballos will feature much, if at all, between now and the end of the season. If that is the case, he could have already made his final appearance as a Real Madrid player, given that it is taken for granted that he will be leaving in the summer.
Ceballos is keen to leave Real Madrid in search for regular football, and the club will not stand in his way if they receive a good offer. Ajax have already made a move towards bringing him to the Netherlands, while Betis remain attentive to the situation of their former player, whom they have tried to re-sign on multiple occasions over the years. 2026 could be the time that he heads back home to Andalusia, although any offer would need to appease Los Blancos.
