Some clubs go through difficult seasons and keep it behind closed doors.
The results suffer, and the mood darkens.
Yet, the dressing room holds together.
Real Madrid managing the opposite of that right now.
What has been emerging over the past week paints a picture of a squad that has completely fractured.
And the incidents being reported are no longer limited to words.
Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni come to blows in training as Antonio Rudiger slaps teammate in Real Madrid’s worst week
According to Marca and Ara, Real Madrid’s training ground has been the setting for two separate physical altercations in recent weeks, alongside Mbappe’s mayhem; incidents that reflect just how badly the mood inside the club has deteriorated following a second consecutive trophyless season.
The first involves Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni.
According to Marca, the two midfielders came to blows during a training session.
A confrontation described as a “brutal row” that went beyond a heated exchange and escalated into physical contact between two of the club’s most important players.
The tension building has been real for some time.
Frustration over performances and over the club’s direction.
All of it simmering before finally boiling over on the training pitch.
The second incident involves Antonio Rudiger.
Allegedly, Rudiger slapped Alvaro Carreras, a moment that took place in the dressing room approximately two weeks ago, in the build-up to the match against Real Betis.
Carreras himself has confirmed the incident, though he chose to downplay it publicly.
“It was an unimportant matter that is now resolved,” the full-back said, adding that “the relationship with the whole team is good.”
Whether that’s entirely accurate is another question.
Because for Rudiger, this isn’t an isolated episode.
This season alone, he was involved in a separate confrontation with a member of Real Madrid’s staff, where he appeared to slap him, unwillingly.
Last season, he threw ice cubes from the bench during the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona, a moment that earned him a six-match ban.
He also celebrated Real Madrid’s Champions League elimination of Atletico Madrid by making a throat-slitting gesture toward the visiting supporters, a display that UEFA fined him €40,000 for.
The pattern is consistent.
And it has now raised serious questions about his place in the German national team setup for the World Cup this summer.
For Real Madrid as a whole, the picture this week is a deeply troubling one.
The summer rebuild can’t come quickly enough.
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