Senior Real Madrid players call for Federico Valverde to be sold after Valdebebas brawl
- Reports on May 12 say some senior Real Madrid players want Federico Valverde sold after his training-ground fight with Aurélien Tchouaméni deepened dressing-room unrest. - The flashpoint was serious enough that Valverde was hospitalized with cranioencephalic trauma, and Real Madrid then fined both midfielders €500,000 each. - It matters because Madrid’s season was already unraveling — and this turns a bad run into a full squad-discipline crisis.
Real Madrid’s problem here is not just one fight. It’s that a training-ground clash between Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni now looks like proof of something bigger — a dressing room that has started to crack. And on May 12, that story escalated again, with reports that some senior players want Valverde sold this summer. ### Did this actually happen? Yes — at least the core incident did. Real Madrid publicly opened disciplinary proceedings on May 7 after an altercation involving Valverde and Tchouaméni, and the club also published a medical report saying Valverde suffered cranioencephalic trauma and would need 10 to 14 days of rest. That moves the story out of pure rumor territory. (si.com) ### What changed today? The new part is the internal fallout. A fresh report says there are players inside the Madrid dressing room who now want Valverde moved on this summer after the clash with Tchouaméni. That is a much bigger deal than a fine or a suspension, because it suggests the issue has spread from two players to the wider squad. ### How serious was the altercation? (realmadrid.com) Serious enough that Real Madrid fined both players €500,000. AP reported the club handed the same punishment to Valverde and Tchouaméni after the practice-ground altercation. When a club goes that hard on two established first-team midfielders, it is not treating the incident as routine training-ground heat. ### Why is Valverde the one under pressure? (si.com) That is the strange part. The discipline was equal, but the political damage inside the squad may not be. Valverde has long been one of Madrid’s most trusted players and a leadership figure, so if teammates are now pushing for his exit, that points to a collapse in support around someone who used to feel untouchable. The catch is that the public reporting does not name which senior players are involved. (apnews.com) ### What does this say about Madrid’s season? Basically, one bad moment landed in a club already running hot. The broader reporting around the incident describes a season of frustration and underachievement, with Madrid heading toward a second straight year without a major trophy. In that kind of environment, a fight is rarely just a fight — it becomes a proxy for every other grievance in the building. (si.com) ### Could Madrid really sell him? They could, but that is still a leap. What exists right now is a report of internal pressure, not a club decision or an official transfer listing. Madrid have acknowledged the incident, punished both players, and disclosed Valverde’s injury, but they have not said anything publicly about selling him. ### So what matters next? (si.com) Watch whether this stays a discipline story or becomes a squad-planning story. If more reporting names the players involved, or if Madrid start signaling changes around the midfield group, then this turns from locker-room chaos into a real transfer-market decision. Until then, the clearest fact is simple — the fight was real, the injury was real, and the fallout is getting worse. (si.com) (realmadrid.com)
