What is going on at Real Madrid? Dressing room fights and tension between stars before El Clasico

Training ground bust-ups, allegations of fights in the dressing room, and a player in hospital requiring stitches for a cut to the head. It’s never quiet at Real Madrid , but even by their standards, the Spanish giants and their multitude of stars are in a full-blown crisis just days before the Clasico. A growing sense of inharmony exploded into chaos on Thursday night, following reports of a fight between teammates Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde .

Real Madrid confirmed the nature of Valverde’s head injury, before the club said disciplinary proceedings have been opened against both players. An emergency meeting with president Florentino Perez was called at the club’s training ground. And now the eyes of the football world wait to see what comes next.

What happened between Valverde and Tchouameni? On Wednesday, reports emerged from Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training round of a dispute between Tchouameni, the France midfielder, and Valverde, the Uruguay international and Madrid vice-captain. It was said to have carried on into the dressing room.

The following day, Valverde reportedly approached Tchouameni and accused him of leaking the argument to the press. Tchouameni denied it, but they refused to shake hands, according to AS . With tensions high, there were heavy challenges between Valverde and Tchouameni during training.