Alvaro Arbeloa has caused shock with his first Real Madrid squad, leaving out Jude Bellingham and three other first-team stars.
Like Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni, Alvaro Carreras and Thibaut Courtois won’t feature against Albacete in the Copa del Rey despite being uninjured.
Arbeloa is also without Kylian Mbappé, Rodrygo, Antonio Rüdiger, Eder Militao, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Ferland Mendy, but they are all injured.
In the place of the uninjured quartet, Arbeloa has enlisted five of his stalwarts from the academy, Joan Martínez, David Jiménez, Manuel Ángel, Palacios, and Cestero.
Bellingham’s dropping comes amid claims in the Spanish media that he, Fede Valverde and Vinicius Jr had turned against Xabi Alonso, leading to his sacking.
Interestingly, the dropped Courtois was also said to have backed the coach in public, but not the dressing room.
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