With only a few days to go until they face Barcelona in the final El Clasico of the season, Real Madrid is in a state of crisis. Alvaro Arbeloa’s side, who will see their disappointing campaign come to an end on Sunday if they do not win at the Spotify Camp Nou, are currently living in a toxic environment, with major divisions starting to become reality at Valdebebas.
Earlier in the week, Alvaro Carreras confirmed he came to blows with fellow defender Antonio Rudiger, and on Wednesday, midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Fede Valverde were involved in a physical altercation of their own.
These incidents come amid reports of strained relations between Arbeloa and a number of his players, and according to Marca, as many as six of them are no longer on speaking terms with the Real Madrid head coach.
Dani Carvajal among those to have clashed with Arbeloa
While the six players have not been named in the report, it is easy to identify a few of them. In recent weeks, it has been noted that Arbeloa has clashed with a number of Spanish players in the Real Madrid squad, including club captain Dani Carvajal, Raul Asencio and Dani Ceballos, who will not play again this season after falling out with his manager.
Carreras is another that has a strained relationship with Arbeloa, who believes the former Manchester United and Benfica defender has a “bad attitude”. It appears that he no longer counts upon his services, given the decision not to bring him on in place of the injured Ferland Mendy during Sunday’s victory at Espanyol.
Whether Arbeloa is right or wrong with his decisions to sideline several players is up for debate, but it will not sit well with president Florentino Perez that the Real Madrid dressing room is so divided. It also points further towards a change of management in the summer.
