Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal may not be the happiest man in the locker room after hearing some of Alvaro Arbeloa's quotes after his team beat Alaves 2-1 at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
Real Madrid beat their local rivals through a goal each from Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. Despite conceding a consolation goal late on, Real Madrid finally got back to winning ways after a four-game slump that essentially ended any chances of them winning silverware this season.
Of course, it is still mathematically possible, but in reality, in the grand scheme of things, Barcelona have picked up the league title - it is all a matter of when they would actually get to celebrate it.
Carvajal, who came off the bench to play a few minutes during the game, has not really played too much this season.
Arbeloa was asked about Carvajal's gametime, and his chances of going to the World Cup, to which Arbeloa gave a very cold reply.
Dani Carvajal may not be happy with Alvaro Arbeloa's latest quotes
He said: “I have 20 players, I think any Real Madrid player has a chance of going to the World Cup, and I will always look for what is best for the team.”
For a player who has shared a dressing room with Arbeloa, that feels a bit less brotherly than what fans have come to expect with Arbeloa.
In the last few months, he has made it clear to the fans that he is a coach that wants the locker room to be without any problems. He talks about his players in a very passionate way, protects them and aims to form good relationships with them.
Look at how he talks about Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Fede Valverde. Most of his other players are always getting some sort of protection and affection from Arbeloa.
But, with this reply about Carvajal, Arbeloa has left it a little sour for his own liking. Obviously, those 20 players would include Carvajal's name, too, because he still has chances to go play with Spain in June.
However, those are the sorts of responses managers give about players they don't like, or fringe players who just want a look in.
I am not insinuating that Arbeloa does not like Carvajal, because I don't know anything about it, and he is the captain of the team after all, but it is a little strange that Carvajal gets the cold shoulder when asked about his gametime.
Of course, coaches say that about anyone who does not play as much as they were used to - and Carvajal would not be an exception to that - but it is a bit strange that Arbeloa, of all people, has said it in such a fashion about his former teammate.
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