Real Madrid have started disciplinary proceedings against Federico Valverde after the latter was taken to hospital with a head injury following a scuffle between the two.
The teammates had a violent confrontation at the end of training on Wednesday, and it is believed that anger flared up again during training on Thursday.
Valverde was taken to hospital with “cephalic trauma” according to Madrid, but has since been released and returned to the club’s Valdebebas training ground.
The club announced that he is recuperating at home and will be out for up to two weeks.
Valverde later admitted in a lengthy statement that the two had had a “difference of opinion” but denied any “fight” and claimed that he “accidentally hit a table and suffered a small cut on his forehead, which required regular visits to the hospital.”
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Kabé Solgecol has described an incident in which Federico Valverde had to visit the hospital for treatment after an altercation with Real Madrid teammate Aurélien Choameni at the training ground.
Real Madrid’s players had earlier held a crisis meeting and the club later confirmed that an investigation was underway, led by president Florentino Perez.
“Real Madrid CF would like to announce that it has decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings against our players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Choameny following the events that occurred during this morning’s first-team training session,” the statement read.
“The club intends to announce a resolution to either case once the corresponding internal procedures have been completed.”
The incident occurred in the run-up to Sunday’s Clasico in Barcelona, where Barcelona are 11 points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid and need just one point to win the title.
The news comes at the end of a turbulent day of fan uncertainty over forward Kylian Mbappé.
Mbappe is on track to feature on Sunday following a hamstring injury, but a petition calling for the French forward’s sale reached 30 million signatures on Thursday.
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Sky Sports’ chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol has explained why Real Madrid fans have launched a record-breaking petition to have Kylian Mbappé banned from the club.
Valverde’s full statement
“Yesterday, I had an accident with a teammate due to my play during practice, but the fatigue and frustration of the game makes everything seem bigger than it really is.
“In a normal dressing room, these things can happen and be resolved between ourselves without being public. Obviously there is someone behind the scenes who spreads the word quickly and when you combine that with a non-title season (Madrid are always in the spotlight), it all becomes blown out of proportion.
“Today we had another disagreement. During the argument, I accidentally bumped myself into the table, resulting in a small cut on my forehead that required a regular trip to the hospital.”
Real Madrid players Aurelien Choameny and Federico Valverde were involved in an altercation
“At no point did my teammate hit me and I never hit him. However, I understand that people might be inclined to believe that we got into a fight or that it was intentional, but that didn’t happen.
“I feel that my anger at the situation and the frustration of seeing some of us on the last legs and giving our all to the end of the season pushed me to the point where I got into an altercation with a teammate.
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry because this situation hurts me and the moment we are experiencing hurts me. Madrid is one of the most important things in my life and I cannot remain indifferent.”
“The result was a meaningless battle, a series of events that tarnished my image and left room for suspicions, fabrications, defamation, and falsification of accidents. I do not believe that the friction off the field will disappear on the field. If I have to protect him inside the stadium, I will be the first to do it.”
“I wasn’t going to talk about it until the end of the season. We were knocked out of the Champions League and I kept my anger and resentment to myself. Another wasted year. I wasn’t in a position to post on social media when I only have face to show on the field – and I think I did that.”
“That’s why it’s more painful and sad than anyone else to go through this situation where I can’t play the next game due to a medical decision. Because no matter what the outcome, I’ve fought until the very end, and not being able to do that hurts me more than anyone else. I will be at the discretion of the club and my teammates, and I will cooperate with whatever decisions they deem necessary.”
