Real Madrid Announces Punishment Decision on Fede Valverde, Aurélien Tchouaméni Fight
Real Madrid has taken action on Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni after the duo's clash that took place during team training, which left Valverde hospitalized with a head injury.
Tensions originally spiked on a Wednesday during a high-intensity session when a heavy tackle led to a near-fight on the pitch.
The situation turned critical the following day when Valverde reportedly refused to shake Tchouaméni's hand, accusing his teammate of leaking details of their previous clash to the media.
During the ensuing dressing room argument, a physical struggle broke out that resulted in Valverde falling and hitting his head against a table. He suffered a significant gash and was hospitalized with cranioencephalic trauma, though he was later released to recover at home.
Valverde later released a statement downplaying the violence and claiming the head injury was an accident.
Real Madrid Hand Massive Fine on Valverde and Tchouaméni
Real Madrid conducted an internal investigation and fined both players €500,000. Due to his recovery timeline, Valverde was ruled out of the critical El Clásico match against Barcelona, leaving the team to manage a fractured dressing room atmosphere that has reportedly affected other senior players as well.
In an official statement, the club also stated that the two players have since apologised to each other.
"Real Madrid C. F. announces that, following the events that led to the disciplinary proceedings initiated yesterday against our players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, both appeared today before the investigator assigned to the case.
During their appearance, the players expressed their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to each other.
OFFICIAL: Real Madrid statement.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 8, 2026
"Real Madrid C.F. announces that, following the events that led to the opening of disciplinary proceedings yesterday against our players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, both appeared today before the investigating officer.
During… pic.twitter.com/2Vb5ZkSFs3
Furthermore, they extended their apologies to the club, their teammates, the coaching staff, and the fans, and both have made themselves available to Real Madrid to accept whatever sanction the club deems appropriate.
Under these circumstances, Real Madrid has decided to impose a financial penalty of five hundred thousand euros on each player, thereby concluding the corresponding internal procedures, the statement read.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 9:01 AM.