Real Madrid has completely collapsed. This is more than poor results. Locker-room clashes, fights between players, hospital transfers, conflicts between coach and players, fans' campaign to expel Mbappé, allegations of internal information leaks, and even phone calls from players' parents protesting to the club president have emerged. Today's Real is closer to an out-of-control team than the world's greatest club.
Major European media such as Spain's Cope, Marca, Mundo Deportivo, France's RMC Sports and Britain's Sky Sports have been revealing Real's internal situation one after another between the 7th and 8th (Korean time). The common expressions are: "chaos", "collapse", and "out of control."
The most shocking incident was the clash between Federico Valverde (28) and Aurélien Tchouaméni (26).
According to France's RMC Sports, the two players' emotions exploded after a strong contact during training. It started as an argument, but the next day Valverde refused to shake Tchouaméni's hand, and during training he even attempted a rough tackle, worsening the atmosphere.
Coach Álvaro Arbeloa tried to calm them by grouping the two players together, but it had no effect. After training ended a fight broke out in the locker room, and Valverde sustained a head injury in the clash and was taken to hospital. Some local reports even said he lost consciousness for a short time.
Real announced on the 8th that it has launched disciplinary proceedings against Valverde and Tchouaméni.
The problem is that this is not the end.
Spain's Mundo Deportivo reported that Antonio Rüdiger hit teammate Álvaro Carreras. The incident is said to have occurred at a training ground between the Alavés and Betis matches.
The Athletic also acknowledged that Rüdiger clashed with a first-team player, though it did not disclose the opponent's name. Rüdiger later reportedly invited the squad and their families to a meal and apologized in person.
Conflicts between the coach and players are also serious.
According to Mundo Deportivo and Cope, Dani Ceballos has been left off matchday squads after clashing with coach Arbeloa. Carreras is also said to have drawn complaints from both the coach and the club over his attitude, and he has fallen behind in the competition for a starting spot.
Even players' families have become involved.
Cope revealed that the parents of two Real players, dissatisfied with lack of playing time, called chairman Florentino Pérez directly. The outlet described it as a symbolic scene of a locker room spoiled and undisciplined.
On top of that, the controversy surrounding Kylian Mbappé has erupted.
Britain's Sky Sports reported that more than 33 million people have signed the petition to expel Mbappé.
Fans' anger was not simply about results. Public outrage erupted after reports that Mbappé, recovering from a hamstring injury, flew on a private jet to Sardinia, Italy, to enjoy a vacation with actress Ester Expósito (26).
Real currently trails Barcelona by 11 points in the title race. Fans feel deeply betrayed to see a key player go on vacation in such circumstances.
More shocking is Mbappé's individual record. He scored an astonishing 85 goals in two seasons after joining Real. Yet the team did not win a single major trophy. By contrast, Paris Saint-Germain won its first UEFA Champions League title after Mbappé left.
Locally, criticism that Real has given players too much power is growing. Cope in particular said, "Real is currently completely out of control from top to bottom," noting that an overly permissive atmosphere toward star players has formed and that other players are acting as if "why are we not allowed?"
The dismissal process of coach Xabi Alonso is also being revisited.
Locally there are reports that coach Alonso felt deep fatigue over the squad's unprofessional behavior and lamented that he felt "like a kindergarten teacher."
Real eventually replaced Alonso with the Arbeloa regime, but the situation worsened. Internal clashes within the squad have repeated, the coach's authority has been shaken, and locker-room information is being leaked externally in real time.
Real Madrid, called Europe's greatest club. But the current image is not "Galáctico" but a team on the verge of exploding. At the end of the season Real stands not in simple slump but in the midst of a comprehensive crisis shaking the entire organization.
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