Real Rumble: Madrid crisis has the players fighting each other

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Content writer covering football, formula 1 and movies

Ding, ding, ding...

Real Madrid are a club on the cusp of a full-blown crisis as reports of constant infighting have emerged over the past week involving a number of high-profile players.

Having lost ground to Barcelona in the title race, losing their Champions League quarter-final tie against Bayern Munich and being eliminated from the Copa del Rey in humiliating fashion by second-tier side Albacete, Los Blancos will finish this season without silverware.

So far this century, they have endured just four trophyless campaigns in 2004/05, 2005/06, 2009/10 and 2020/21.

This coming Sunday, they could suffer the indignity of losing the title to Barcelona in a Clasico fixture for the first time ever, with the Blaugrana needing just a point to be named champions.

Remarkably, performances on the pitch are the least of President Florentino Perez's worries at the moment as the squad is tearing itself apart internally due to a number of separate feuds which have combined to create a supremely toxic atmosphere at the club.

Things didn't seem right from the beginning of the season when Xabi Alonso was brought in as he quickly butted heads with vice-captain Federico Valverde, who became upset at being played out of position at right-back as new signing Trent Alexander-Arnold struggled for fitness.

He even called out the head coach publicly for playing him out of position.

Here's who else has feuded this season.

Rudiger vs Carreras and staff members

Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Carreras had a heated dressing‑room altercation at Real Madrid that escalated physically. Reports from Spanish outlet Onda Cero say Rudiger slapped Carreras in the changing room after a disagreement about attitude and commitment, amid a difficult run of form for the team. The incident happened sometime between Madrid’s 2‑1 win over Alaves and a 1‑1 draw with Real Betis, and is described as the breaking point of an ongoing clash between the veteran defender and the younger left‑back, who joined in the summer.

Why on earth is Rudiger slapping a member of Real Madrid’s staff like that… pic.twitter.com/hO6uPoeuW8

— The 44 ⚽️ (@The_Forty_Four) May 6, 2026

Since then, things have cooled off, publicly at least. Rudiger is said to have apologised to teammates and even took them out for lunch as a sign of regret, while Carreras has since played down the fallout on social media, calling it a “one‑off issue” now resolved and insisting he remains fully committed to the club.

But, footage then emerged of Rudiger slapping a member of the coaching staff and although some have played it down, it doesn't seem like a friendly altercation.

Kylian Mbappe vs nearly everyone

Outlets including L’Équipe have said an increasing number of Madrid players are frustrated by Kylian Mbappe's behaviour on and off the pitch, calling it “self‑centred” and “too individualistic.” This has created real tension in the dressing room, not just from fans, who have actually created a petition to have him removed from the club, as well as a site counting down the seconds until his contract expires.

Mbappe is also described as being increasingly isolated, with sources saying he is mainly close to French players like Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelian Tchouameni and Ferland Mendy, while relationships with others – including Jude Bellingham and parts of the coaching staff – are reportedly frosty. Add in alleged incidents like disrespectful comments to staff and being 45 minutes late to a team lunch with no real consequences, and you get a situation where some teammates clearly don’t rate him as a team player, even if they still respect his talent.

Fans and team-mates didn't take too kindly to him arriving from a break in Italy with his girlfriend not long before Madrid took on Espanyol in La Liga at the weekend, but the club insisted players are free to do as they wish as they recover from injury.

Most recently, reports have emerged about a confrontation between Mbappe and Bellingham.

“On a day when the Bernabeu whistled at the players and singled out Bellingham, there was a major confrontation between Bellingham and Mbappe at halftime. It was a serious clash, and there have been more,” journalist Roberto Morales revealed on El Partidazo de la Cadena COPE.

When Mbappe signed with Real Madrid, there was always going to be friction between the new golden boy and the previous one, Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian, right now, is demanding to be paid on-par with Mbappe to sign a new contract, for example.

“If we go a little further back, Vinicius caused a scene when Mbappe returned during the Club World Cup under Xabi Alonso. That was when the relationship between Vinicius and Xabi Alonso started to become strained because he was played in a position he does not like, and Vinicius said he did not want to play there. That was also when he began to feel that Xabi Alonso was giving Mbappe affection and attention that he was not receiving himself. If you keep pulling the thread, you can see there have been many more situations,” Morales explained further.

Tchouameni vs Valverde

Midfield team-mates Federico Valverde and Tchouameni were involved in a heated training‑ground clash at Real Madrid that almost turned physical, reports MARCA.

The incident reportedly started with a routine challenge in a training drill, but a foul quickly escalated into a furious argument between the two midfielders, with both squaring up, exchanging shoves and strong words.

The row carried on into the dressing room, which left staff and teammates shocked at how aggressive the confrontation became, especially given both players’ usually level‑headed reputations. The bust‑up is now seen as the latest sign of major tension inside the squad.

Arbeloa vs fringe players

Everyone wants to play at Real Madrid and having a rookie caretaker head coach in charge of a squad full of superstar divas is a recipe for disaster.

Not only has Alvaro Arbeloa had to content with his elite players falling out, but fringe players have complained about a lack of minutes.

This group includes club captain Dani Carvajal, Raul Asensio and Dani Ceballos.

The former Madrid defender has had to publicly state on a number of occasions that there is no rift between himself and Carvajal, who went viral last month after appearing to mock Trent Alexander-Arnold's slow retreat to defend on one occasion during a La Liga match.

At the moment, the Real Madrid dressing room resembles a WWE Royal Rumble more than a haven of professionalism and teamwork.

Perhaps the most childish report is one from COPE that has suggested two players have had their parents actually phone Perez to complain about a lack of minutes this season

Written by

Martin Macdonald | Writer

Martin Macdonald. a Content Writer for FootballTransfers and FootballTransfers USA, as well as the Business Operations Manager for RealTimes Network, has worked in football reporting for over 15 years, starting at GOAL and Perform Media before moving to RealTimes. He was formerly the Chief Editor of MovieMeter.com and has also written for FightFans, GPFans and MSN.

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