‘A Mistake'-Gavi Criticizes Real Madrid Over Handling of Valverde, Tchouameni Fight
Barcelona's Gavi didn't hesitate, openly questioning Real Madrid and Álvaro Arbeloa's handling of the Federico Valverde, Aurélien Tchoucaméni's incident and saying that if they came to blows or hands were thrown, then the manager "made a mistake" letting the Frenchman play in El Clásico.
Valverde and Tchouaméni's reported physical altercation left the Uruguayan with a traumatic brain injury, and the rift has stolen headlines since early May. Valverde has since come out to say Tchouaméni and him never came to blows, but he still missed the clash against Barcelona due to the injury he suffered during the dispute.
Still, speculation surrounding what truly transpired in Real Madrid's locker room just days before a title-deciding El Clásico have continued since. When asked about the situation in a wide-ranging interview with Mundo Deportivo, Gavi had a clear point of view on the whole situation, particularly how it should've been handled.
"I'm of the opinion that there's alway going to be rifts between teammates," the Barcelona midfielder said. "Whether it's in training or at some point in the season, because that how things are, you're all competitive and that's a good thing, up to a certain point, obviously.
"In the end, I think that if you reach the point where you're throwing hands-which I don't know if they did-then it's the manager who must decide and not let them play. So if it's true that they came to blows, then to me [Arbeloa] made a mistake selecting [Tchouaméni] and letting him play. But I also don't know the truth of what happened, so I can't tell you much else."
But Gavi's fiery comments directed Real Madrid's way didn't stop there.
Gavi Throws Dart At Real Madrid Referee Complaints
Real Madrid current and former players, managers and, particularly, president Florentino Pérez have constantly tried to disparage Barcelona's titles, mainly pointing to the Negreira case, where Real Madrid allege Barcelona bribed former vice president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) refereeing committee José María Enríquez Negreira.
Los Blancos' crusade against referees, deeming them responsible for Barcelona's success, prompted the Catalans to even consider taking legal action. When asked about Madrid's constant complaints, Gavi admitted he doesn't really care what Barça's biggest rival says.
"It's always going to be like this," Gavi said. "The whole world knows that in the end, always Madrid are going to disparage or demerit the things we win, our titles. We shouldn't care about that.
"Like I've said, it has a lot of merit to win two straight La Liga titles, with many homegrown players from La Masia and without making many signings. There's been very few transfers, other teams have made a lot transfers every year. So that's something to be proud about."
Gavi Admits He Wanted to Win La Liga in El Clasico
Barcelona became 2025–26 La Liga champions by defeating Real Madrid in El Clásico on May 10, the first time in the history of the rivalry that the league title was decided in a direct matchup.
Yet, Barcelona could've become La Liga champions a week earlier had Real Madrid failed to defeat Espanyol. For Gavi, though, having the chance to clinch back-to-back crowns while simultanuously condemming Real Madrid to a trophyless season was exactly what he wanted.
"Obviously, if I'm being honest, I wanted Madrid to beat Espanyol," Gavi admitted. "Just to be able to beat them and win La Liga at home and with our people. And that's how it ended up happening, and that's even better for me."
Barcelona and Gavi have won three of the last four La Liga titles. The first two were clinched at the home of their Catalan rivals Espanyol, and now the third one was lifted in a home El Clásico.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘A Mistake'-Gavi Criticizes Real Madrid Over Handling of Valverde, Tchouameni Fight.
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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 7:00 AM.