MU Shorts
Accusations, punches and a wheelchair – How the Valverde-Tchouameni fight unfolded
Real Madrid are in a state of absolute disarray at the moment, with the locker room completely in turmoil.
After reports of confrontations between Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Carreras, Federico Valvere and Aurelien Tchouameni have now been involved in two major training ground bust-ups in the space of 24 hours.
While things were brought under control on Wednesday, today they escalated to a whole new level, leading to physical altercations and a visit to the hospital for the Uruguayan.
How the fight unfolded
Now, AS has come forward with a detailed report outlining how things reached a head between Tchouameni and Valverde at Real Madrid’s training facilities.
Upon arriving at Valdebebas today, Valverde refused to shake Tchouameni’s hand. A gesture that immediately increased the hostility inside the dressing room and, consequently, during training.
The Uruguayan then began accusing Tchouameni of being responsible for leaking yesterday’s argument to the media. Constant accusations, repeated relentlessly.

Tchouameni denied it at all times, pointing out precisely that he is not someone who has dealings with the press. But the accusations, which started in the dressing room, continued out on the pitch.
While the team trained, Valverde continued pressing Tchouameni over supposedly leaking the story. And while all this was happening, manager Alvaro Arbeloa did not intervene. The session unfolded in what has been described as an “unpleasant” atmosphere.
The two stars were involved in a constant exchange of ugly tackles. The hostility was obvious. Throughout all of this, Valverde persisted in accusing Tchouameni of telling the press what had happened on Wednesday.
Dressing room brawl
Training eventually ended. But the worst was still to come. Once back in the dressing room, Valverde continued to accuse Tchouameni of leaking the news relentlessly.
At that point, the Frenchman stood his ground and spoke to him, apparently in a calm manner, asking him to stop. But the Uruguayan did not stop. Some players stepped in to mediate and tried to convince them to end the accusations but failed.
And then Tchouameni lost patience. He then threw a strong punch at Valverde. The blow struck him directly on the head and caused him to fall to the ground. It was during that fall that he hit himself and suffered the cut.

The injury was not caused directly by Tchouameni’s punch, but by the impact of the fall. From that moment, Valverde was visibly dizzy. So much so that he had to leave the training ground in a wheelchair.
CEO Jose Angel Sanchez, who was close to the dressing room at the time of the fight, arrived quickly but by then everything had already happened. Florentino Perez was not at Valdebebas.
Moments later, Valverde was taken to the Valdebebas medical room in the wheelchair. There, the significant cut on his head was examined and he was transferred to Blua Sanitas Hospital to receive stitches.
From that moment onwards, Tchouameni left Valdebebas in his private vehicle and has not crossed paths with Valverde again.
Valverde, meanwhile, returned to the training ground after his hospital visit accompanied by his wife, with the noticeable wound still visible on his head.
Real Madrid have opened disciplinary proceedings against both players and is already studying possible measures to implement. The next steps are now being considered.
Matches
Guler, Trent start in a 4-2-3-1: How Real Madrid can line up against Elche
Real Madrid will lock horns with Elche CF away at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero later tonight in Matchday 6 of the 2026/27 La Liga season.
The Merengues are currently second in the league standings with four wins and one defeat from five games, three points behind Barcelona, who are yet to drop a single point this term, and have looked unstoppable.
Given the situation, Real Madrid know there is no room for slip-up, even though it is still very early in the season.
Jose Mourinho’s men have not been particularly convincing away from home this term, having just about managed to beat RCD Espanyol in their opening match before falling to their only defeat of the campaign against Real Betis.
The hope will be to address that issue and put in a strong performance while collecting all three points heading into the derby against Atletico Madrid later in the week.
Going into the match, Los Blancos have not received any new fitness boosts, with Eder Militao, Rodrygo Goes, and Ferland Mendy still unavailable.
However, there will likely be some rotations with an eye on the derby, and here’s how Mourinho could set his team up against Elche tonight.
Defence
Trent Alexander-Arnold has had to share minutes with summer signing Denzel Dumfries so far this season, but will be hoping to make the right-back spot his own with a convincing performance tonight against Elche.

Meanwhile, on the left, Alvaro Carreras is expected to retain his place after a brilliant display at the weekend against Rayo Vallecano, which would also allow Marc Cucurella to be protected before the derby.
At centre-back, Dean Huijsen is expected to return to the starting lineup, at the expense of Antonio Rudiger, and partner with Ibrahima Konate.
Thibaut Courtois is the undisputed starter in goal for Real Madrid and will continue his search for a second clean sheet this season.
Midfield
While Aurelien Tchouameni has returned from his injury layoff, he is unlikely to be rushed back by Mourinho. As such, the Frenchman is likely to feature off the bench once again tonight at Elche.
Instead, the double pivot pairing of Federico Valverde and Bernardo Silva is expected to take the field once again, with Eduardo Camavinga also having to settle for a spot among the substitutes.
Jude Bellingham has started all of Real Madrid’s matches so far this season and given his form and importance to the team, Mourinho will not rotate him tonight against Elche.
Attack

Yan Diomande made his first start at Real Madrid last weekend against Rayo Vallecano but failed to make the best impression.
Meanwhile, Arda Guler was once again brilliant for Los Blancos after coming on as a substitute, making a strong case for him to be reinstated to the starting XI on the right wing.
As for the left side of the attack, Vinicius Jr. will retain his place, hoping to find his best form after a rather slow start to the campaign.
Kylian Mbappe, who has now scored six goals in La Liga this season, will spearhead the attack, hoping to end his run of seven months without scoring away from home in the league.

