UPDATE: Tchouameni speaks out
Tchouameni has since given his take on the fiasco with a social media statement.
He writes: “What happened this week in training is unacceptable.
“I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school. No matter who is right or wrong, we should always seek the calmest solution to resolve a conflict.
“Above all, I’m sorry for the image we’ve projected of the club. I know the fans, the staff, my teammates, the management—everyone is deeply disappointed by how this season has unfolded. But frustration cannot excuse everything.
“These incidents, while they can happen in any dressing room, are not worthy of Real Madrid . Especially since Real Madrid is the most talked-about club in the world.
“The internet loves to invent the wildest stories to generate buzz, so don’t believe everything you hear or the false narrative.
“Anyway, now is not the time to figure out who did what, who said what, or who was right or wrong. I acknowledge the club’s sanction and accept it.
“We are still a family, with disagreements at times, but we must always put our goals above everything else. I have apologised to the group, and I also want to extend my apologies to all Madrid fans.
“Now it’s time to move on, and all our focus is on El Clásico and the season ahead, to take the club back to the top, where it belongs.”
After making one huge mistake, Aurelien Tchouameni was quick to make another.
The French midfielder is already in the eye of the storm over a training ground bust-up that left Real Madrid teammate Fede Valverde with a head injury.
Valverde had to go to hospital after the incident and has been declared out of El Clasico against Barcelona.
Tchouameni, meanwhile, could face disciplinary action from Madrid, with both players under investigation from the club.
As such, you’d expect the Frenchman to keep quiet, but he’s instead been speaking to an influencer.
‘Aqababe’ posted a text exchange which he claimed was with Tchouameni.
He earlier wrote: “Yesterday’s altercation is indeed completely fake!
“Regarding what happened today between Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde – Aurelien Tchouameni would not have punched him, Federico Valverde would have fallen and his head would have violently hit the ground.
“The players must currently wait for the club’s approval to communicate!”
After being called out for making up the claims, he posted screenshots of a conversation and wrote: “I’m dropping this here, I’m not a liar, me.
Tchouameni’s comments leaked
“Now if Aurelien lied to me, that’s not my fault, sorry footie fans.”
The screenshot was made up mainly of voice notes, but it did also show Tchouameni appearing to confirm the detail that no punches were thrown.
“Something happened but I can’t say anything,” he wrote in one message.
And in another he added: “I told you nothing happened yesterday, meaning there wasn’t a fight.”
A third read: “I didn’t punch him, that’s not true, that’s all I can tell you. His head hit the ground.”
Whether or not you believe the influencer, Tchouameni’s alleged take does respond to that of Valverde’s.
Valverde’s statement
A day earlier the Uruguayan wrote on Instagram: “Yesterday I had an incident with a teammate as a result of a play in training, where the fatigue of the competition and the frustration made everything bigger.
“In a normal locker room, these things can happen and are resolved internally without becoming public. Clearly, there’s someone behind this, spreading the story quickly, and coupled with a trophyless season where Real Madrid is always under scrutiny, everything is blown out of proportion.
“Today we had another disagreement. During the argument, I accidentally bumped my head on a table, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital.
“At no point has my partner hit me and I haven’t hit him either, although I understand that for you it’s easier to believe that we got into a fistfight or that it was intentional, but that didn’t happen.
“I feel that my anger with the situation, my frustration at seeing some of us reaching the end of the season with our last bit of strength, breaking our spirits, has reached the point where I’ve argued with a teammate.
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry because this situation hurts me, this moment we’re going through hurts me. Real Madrid is one of the most important things in my life, and I can’t be indifferent to it.
“The result is an accumulation of things that culminate in a senseless fight, damaging my image and leaving room for the possibility that they’ll fabricate, defame, and embellish an incident. I have no doubt that any disagreements we might have off the field cease to exist on it, and if I have to defend it inside a stadium, I’ll be the first.
“I wasn’t going to speak out until the end of the season. We were eliminated from the Champions League, and I kept my anger and resentment to myself. We’ve wasted another year, and I wasn’t in a position to be posting on social media when the only face I had to show was on the pitch, and I feel that’s what I did. That’s why I’m the one who’s most saddened and hurt to be in this situation that prevents me from playing the next match due to medical decisions.
“I always gave it my all, to the very end, and it hurts me more than anyone not to be able to do so. I’m available to the club and my teammates to collaborate on any decision they deem necessary. Thank you.”
Leave a Reply