It has been a difficult 2025/26 season for Real Madrid, to put it very mildly, and one of the players who has felt this season the hardest emotionally is Fede Valverde. The vice captain of the club has been stepping up into a leadership role, and with Dani Carvajal no longer of use to the team in the starting lineup, he has basically become the main captain by default.
Valverde had a brilliant hat trick against Manchester City in the Champions League knockouts, but, by and large, this has been a more mediocre season from the Uruguayan than what Madridistas have been usually accustomed to. And he has made more headlines for daliances off the pitch, such as striking against former manager Xabi Alonso and having unbecoming squabbles with fellow midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.
The fight between Valverde and Tchouameni has made international headlines, and it has not made Valverde look good at all, even though he was the biggest victim of it, suffering a concussion either due to being struck or falling on a table - depending on which version of the events you prefer to hear.
Dani Carvajal has been a disgrace this season, too
But as much as Fede Valverde is drawing the ire of the media and even Madridistas, a gentle reminder needs to be served that he isn't actually the main captain of the team on seniority and of these two captains, the other one is by far a bigger problem.
Valverde needs to be held accountable and has not covered himself in glory, sure, but what about Dani Carvajal? He is seriously souring his great legacy at Real Madrid as one of the best right backs of his time by being a totally absentee captain. If anything, Carvajal's name has been an even bigger issue in the media, pretty much openly disrespecting Alvaro Arbeloa, and there is every chance he is one of those calling his former mentor a "cone", invoking the ugly insults perpetuated by Gerard Pique and the Barcelona camp back in the day.
Carvajal has been making more headlines for going against his own manager and for a training ground dust up with Victor Valdepenas than anything else. Instead of mentoring the talented fullbacks coming up, Carvajal has been upset about ceding minutes to them, nevermind the fact that he is the clear No. 2 to Trent Alexander-Arnold. If he does not play, then it is because he does not merit playing, as he is so poor going forward and genuinely looks finished at the top level; that is the real reason Arbeloa does not play him.
Even lately in this Valverde incident, Carvajal did not act as a leader in the locker room. As per Diario AS, via Madrid Sports, instead of acting like a captain, Carvajal was one of the first players to leave the facilities after the Tchouameni and Valverde blow up. Jose Angel Sanchez had to specifically get him to come back immediately for the emergency meeting. It is a small thing, yes, but it is a microcosm of how Carvajal has absolved any responsibility a captain should have. If Valverde has been disappointing, Carvajal has been that and more.
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