Real Madrid have been rocked by internal disputes between players, which escalated to a whole new level on Thursday when Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde got into a fight inside the dressing room.

The brawl ended badly with the Uruguayan international having to be taken to the hospital after he suffered a cut on his face and was concussed. Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against both players by the club.

Issues dating back to October

Now, according to MARCA, the fight between Tchouameni and Valverde is the result of deeper issues linked to everything that has happened inside the dressing room this season, with the squad now more divided than ever.

The fracture within the team began when several players openly showed their discontent with former manager Xabi Alonso.

What initially appeared to be a simple disagreement gradually evolved into an internal split that, over the course of the season, created different factions inside the squad and an increasingly tense atmosphere.

The situation began to deteriorate in October. It was at that point that several senior players, including captains Vinicius Jr. and Valverde, stopped hiding their dissatisfaction with Alonso’s methods.

The criticism centred on the tactical intensity of training sessions, the constant video analysis meetings and a methodology that some players considered excessively rigid.

However, players who remained supportive of Alonso believed those complaints were merely an excuse to attack the coach due to Vinicius’ frustration over his repeated removals from the starting line-up.

From that point onwards, the dressing room became increasingly divided. One section of the squad supported Alonso’s ideas. Another group, including Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga, believed his methods were negatively affecting several players’ performances.

Those loyal to Alonso were frustrated by what they considered disrespectful behaviour towards the coach. Some players pretended to fall asleep during tactical sessions, while others whispered among themselves while Alonso was speaking.

“I did not know I was coming to a nursery school!!!” the coach eventually shouted, exhausted by the attitude of certain players.

The divide deepens

The point of no return arrived during the previous El Clasico in late October, when Vinicius openly displayed his frustration towards Alonso for substituting him. That image ultimately came to symbolise the complete breakdown between part of the squad and the manager.

Shortly afterwards, in January, Alonso was dismissed and the club turned to Arbeloa in an attempt to stabilise the situation. However, the former defender inherited a dressing room that had already suffered considerable damage.

Several players could not understand how part of the squad had effectively destroyed a project that had barely begun.

This was especially true among players who believed in Alonso’s ideas, including Tchouameni, and who felt the team simply needed more time to adapt to a more tactical and demanding system.

For several months, Arbeloa managed to partially reduce tensions and restore a degree of stability. There was a team dinner aimed at rebuilding unity, as well as some positive internal meetings. However, as poor results returned, the problems resurfaced with force.

There have been clashes between players during training sessions, including the confrontation involving Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Carreras. However, the peak of this toxic atmosphere has been reached with the two altercations between Tchouameni and Valverde.

In addition, up to six players maintain virtually no relationship with Arbeloa. Complaints about the current manager have also grown steadily over recent months.

Ironically, several of the players most critical of Arbeloa were among those who had previously felt comfortable under Alonso and were fully committed to that original project.

The Kylian Mbappe situation is also contributing to tensions within the squad. Some players are said to be frustrated with the French forward, while those close to him believe there are internal attempts to damage the image of the Real Madrid superstar.

All of this helps explain the instability currently surrounding Real Madrid. Beyond the sporting results, the club’s biggest issue heading into the future is now a divided dressing room.

What next?

That is why the appointment of the next manager is considered so important, with Florentino Perez personally overseeing the process.

There is also growing debate within the dressing room regarding the club’s system for selecting captains.

Many voices believe that Valverde and Vinicius are not the ideal figures to lead a dressing room lacking strong references beyond Dani Carvajal, who is emotionally drained by his current situation within the team.

Thibaut Courtois, a respected leader, occupies only fourth place in the club captaincy hierarchy.