Fede Valverde is currently out of the Real Madrid lineup with a concussion after a training ground incident with fellow midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, with whom he apparently had months of issues with. But instead of Tchou getting the brunt of the criticism from within and in the media, Valverde has been painted as the aggressor in the incident, apparently driving Tchouameni to retaliate after initially wanting to be peacemaker.
Given the hunt for a mole in the locker room and allegations that Tchouameni or his friend Kylian Mbappe are the main ones behind the leaks to the Spanish and French media, many Real Madrid fans don't know who to believe about what went down between Tchouameni and Valverde.
But there are a couple of things that are tough to debate. Fede Valverde has been important to Real Madrid and oozed Madridismo for years, winning two Champions League titles as a key player. But now that he has been a captain, he has been disappointing on the pitch and has caused problems in the locker room under two managers. Yet he has still had decisive moments this season, such as the hat trick against Manchester City.
Fede Valverde is being pushed out
Tchuoameni, on the other hand, seems like a good, mild mannered guy, but on the pitch, he has been very poor and overprotected by the media. His performances in big matches like El Clasico are often the worst of his teammates, both this season and last season, and he has been just as slow to develop as Eduardo Camavinga - and arguably worse, given he does not win possession or progress the ball like Cama.
Between the two players, even though Valverde has been better and more important for longer, the Uruguayan is the one suffering the most behind the scenes. And there appears to be a smear campaign against him from actual players in the locker room who are leaking or telling the club that they want him gone.
The latest information comes from Ramon Alvarez de Mon of Radio MARCA, who passes along word that there are "players with weight" who are literally asking Real Madrid and president Florentino Perez to sell Valverde this summer.
It is a disheartening bit of news that shows that even after El Clasico, the drama around Real Madrid is not going to be quelled and there are players in the locker room who are abusing their power. Most people looking at this report are thinking of Kylian Mbappe. He stands to benefit the most from Valverde leaving.
Mbappe has been part of two teams with rampant leaks now, and Fede and Mbappe seem to be on opposite camps with Mbappe likely gunning for another captaincy. Another candidate for the mole is Tchouameni, Mbappe's close friend, but they don't actually play the same position. If anything, Camavinga would be helped the most by Valverde going (Dani Ceballos is already gone no matter what).
Add us as a preferred source on Google