Real Madrid Open Disciplinary Case After Valverde, Tchouameni Rift Causes Traumatic Brain Injury

The Real Madrid locker room has dramatically imploded.

Aurélien Tchouaméni (left) and Fede Valverde went at each other. | Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press/Getty Images

Real Madrid announced that the club have opened disciplinary proceedings against both Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde, after a fight at the club’s training grounds left the Uruguay international hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury.

The pair headlined an incident during Wednesday’s training session, and the situation only worsened a day later, leading to an altercation. Real Madrid released a statement on Thursday night revealing that they are investigating the situation.

“Real Madrid announces that, following the incidents that occurred this morning during the first-team’s training session, have decided to open disciplinary files on our players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni,” the statement said.

“The club will provide updates on the resolutions of both proceedings once the corresponding internal procedures have been completed.”

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Federico Valverde Brain Injury, Recovery Timeline

Fede Valverde will miss El Clásico this weekend. | Mateo Villalba Sanchez/Getty Images

News that Valverde needed to be hospitalized following the altercation with the Frenchman soon went viral. Although there’s nothing confirmed yet, multiple reports indicate that Valverde hit his head on a table while the dust-up with Tchouaméni was taking place.

According to BBC Sport, Valverde was knocked unconscious and required stitches to close a wound in his head suffered during the spat.

Shortly after Real Madrid announced they were taking disciplinary action, Los Blancos released another statement sharing an update on Valverde’s health.

“After the tests carried out today on our player Fede Valverde by the Real Madrid medical staff, he has been diagnosed with a cranioencephalic trauma,” the statement said.

“Valverde is at home in good condition and will need to rest for 10 to 14 days, as indicated by medical protocols for this diagnosis.”

Given the timeline for his recovery, Valverde will miss El Clásico against Barcelona at the weekend, where Real Madrid must defeat their bitter rivals, or else they’ll have to watch as the Catalans celebrate the La Liga title right in front of them, condemning Los Blancos to a trophy-less season.

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Valverde Breaks Silence, Apologizes for Tchouaméni Incident

Fede Valverde admitted his frustration got the better of him. | Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images

Just minutes after Real Madrid released both statements on the matter, Valverde also took to social media to release a statement of his own, clarifying that there was no physical altercation between the pair, apologizing for what’s transpired and sharing his devastation over how the season has unfolded.

“Yesterday I had an incident with a teammate as a product of an action during a training session,” Valverde wrote on Instagram. “Where the fatigue of the competition and frustration makes everything bigger.

“In a normal locker room, these things can happen and are usually resolved between ourselves without them coming to light. Evidently, here there is someone behind the scenes that runs and spreads rumors, and adding a season without titles where Madrid are always under scrutiny, everything gets magnified.

“Today, we had another disagreement. During the argument, I accidentally hit a table, causing a small cut on my forehead that required me to go on a protocol visit to the hospital. At no point did my teammate hit me, and I didn’t hit him either, although I understand that for you, it’s easier to believe that we traded punches or that it was intentional, but that didn’t happen.

“I’m sorry that my anger about the situation, the frustration that some of us are arriving with outlast strengths to the end of the season, breaking our souls, [and] overwhelmed me to the the limit that took me to argue with a teammate.

Fede Valverde didn’t hold back. | Instagram (@fedevalverde)

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart because the situation hurts me, the moment we’re going through pains me. Real Madrid are one of the most important things in my life, and I can’t be indifferent. What happened is the accumulation of many things that result in a senseless fight that damages my image.

“I have no doubt that any arguments we may have off the pitch disappear inside the pitch, and if I have to defend him inside a stadium, I will be the first.

“I wasn’t going to speak until after the season. We were eliminated from the Champions League and I kept my pain and resentment to myself. We’ve wasted another year, and I wasn’t in position to be publishing things on social media, when the only place I had to show up was on the pitch and I feel that's what I did.

“That’s why I’m the one who’s most ashamed and sad about going through this situation that impedes me from playing our next game for medical reasons, because I always gave it my all, until the end, and it hurts me more than anyone to not be able to do it.

“I’m at the disposition of the club and my teammates to collaborate on any decision they deem necessary.”

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