Real Madrid players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouameni apologized for the fight they had in the locker room coach Álvaro Arbeloa said on Saturday, urging his team to focus on Sunday’s clash against league leaders Barcelona.
The fight left him sidelined for up to two weeks. Real Madrid in 500 thousand euros (R$ 2.8 million) each on Friday (8).
“They expressed regret and asked for forgiveness. That’s enough for me. What I’m not going to do is expose them to public humiliation, because they don’t deserve it,” Arbeloa told reporters.
“These two players deserve that we turn the page, that we give them the opportunity to continue fighting for this club. I am very proud of them. I will not allow this to be used to cast doubt on their professionalism. It is a lie that they are not professionals.”
Former Spain, Real Madrid and Liverpool defender Arbeloa said fights in the dressing room were not uncommon.
“I already had a teammate who picked up a golf club and tried to hit another player with it. What happens in the Real Madrid dressing room should stay in the Real Madrid dressing room, and that’s what hurts me the most,” said the 43-year-old.
“These are situations that have always happened, but I’m certainly not justifying it. It was an incident and we were unlucky that Fede got hurt; it was more a matter of bad luck than what actually happened.”
The coach said the ultimate responsibility was his.
“If you want to blame someone, here I am,” he said.
Arbeloa: “There is no disrespect”
Arbeloa also denied reports in the media that Real Madrid players were disrespecting him and performing below expectations, with the club on the verge of ending the year without titles for the second year in a row.
“It’s an absolute lie. I’m mainly responsible for the fact that we probably didn’t measure up this season. But I’ve been here for four months and I’m very proud of my players,” he said.
“I’m proud of the way they welcomed me… it’s clear that frustration and anger can lead to undesirable situations. Now we have to focus on the game. That’s what we have to focus our attention on now.”
Barcelona, leaders with an 11-point lead over Real Madrid, only need a draw to secure their second consecutive LaLiga title this Sunday.
