Tchouameni publicy comments on Valverde dressing room altercation: What really happened?

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Content writer covering football, formula 1 and movies

Aurelien Tchouameni insists there is no bad blood between him and Real Madrid team-mate Federico Valverde after reports of a physical altercation between the pair emerged towards the end of the season.

The training ground incident between Valverde and Tchouameni in May threw Real Madrid into a massive internal crisis during an already frustrating, trophyless season. The initial spark happened during a Wednesday training session, where the two midfielders exchanged heated words over a specific run of play.

The tension at the club was already running incredibly high due to a poor run of form, an early elimination from the Champions League, and infighting following the mid-season departure of former manager Xabi Alonso.

The very next day, reports from Spain suggested things got physical between the pair and that Valverde had to be taken to hospital after banging his head off a table inside the dressing room.

The Uruguayan himself was quick to play down the incident, however.

“Yesterday I had an incident with a teammate during a training session. The fatigue from competition and the frustration made everything seem blown out of proportion,” he wrote on his social channels.

“In a normal locker room, these things can happen and are usually resolved internally without it becoming all public.

“Clearly, someone here is spreading rumours, and with a season without titles, where Real Madrid is always under scrutiny, everything gets blown out of proportion.

“Today we had another disagreement. During the argument, I accidentally hit a table, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital.

“At no point did my team-mate hit me, I didn’t hit him either.

“I feel that my anger about the situation, frustration at seeing some of us struggling to get through end of season, giving it our all, pushed me to the point of arguing with a teammate.

“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry because this situation hurts me, this moment we’re going through is painful.

“Real Madrid is one of the most important things in my life and I can’t be indifferent to it. The result is accumulation of things that culminate in a senseless fight, damaging my image and leaving room for doubt that they will add fuel to the fire of an accident.

“I wasn’t going to speak out until the end of the season. We were eliminated from the Champions League, and I kept my anger and resentment to myself.

“We’ve wasted another year, and I wasn’t in a position to be posting on social media when the only face I had to show was on the field, and I feel that’s what I did. That’s why I’m the one who’s most saddened and pained to be going through this situation that prevents me from playing the next match due to medical decisions.

“I always gave it my all, to the very end, and it hurts me more than anyone not to be able to do so. I am available to the club and my team-mates to collaborate on any decision they deem necessary. Thank you.”

Both players were reportedly fined half a million euros for the argument.

To Tchouameni's credit, he too has looked to curb any speculation about a rift between the pair.

"Certain events have occurred, and you've all seen the coverage. But this situation has been blown out of proportion. At Real Madrid, everything provokes a massive reaction. Still, a lot of nonsense has appeared in the press," he said at a press conference for the French national team.

"I've read that there was a fight and that I'm supposed to have hit him. That's simply not true. I won't go into any further detail.

"The most important thing is that the club knows what happened. So many things happen in the dressing room that the media never find out about. Life goes on.

"Fede and I have one clear goal: to win titles with Real Madrid. There are absolutely no problems."

Both Tchouameni and Valverde will be present at the 2026 World Cup this summer, with France in a group alongside Norway, Iraq and Senegal and Uruguay a facing Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde and Spain.