Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni has finally broken his silence about the controversial incident involving teammate Federico Valverde.
Things got heated in Madrid camp towards the end of the 2025-26 campaign as an internal altercation between Tchouameni and Valverde resulted in the latter requiring hospital treatment for a head injury.
The Los Blancos hierarchy moved swiftly to punish the pair, launching disciplinary proceedings that ended with massive €500,000 fines for both stars.
Speaking on The Bridge (via AS), Tchouameni categorically rejected reports that he engaged in a physical brawl with the Uruguayan. “I want to clear things up. There was no fight between us. Yes, it’s true that things happen in the changing room, but we never had a fight,” the France international explained.
Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde look on during a LaLiga EA Sports match. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
While acknowledging that the atmosphere temporarily soured, he blamed the intense spotlight of the Santiago Bernabeu for exaggerating the fallout.
”In a changing room there are little scuffles and things like that, but I never came to blows with Valverde. It’s true that there was something unpleasant happened,” he continued.
”The only problem with all this is that when you’re at Real Madrid, anything – however small – gets blown out of all proportion and becomes media circus. Something that wasn’t necessarily a problem ends up becoming one.”
The Frenchman noted that the situation generated immense concern among his inner circle, a move that forced him to reassure worried family and friends off the pitch. “Afterwards, everyone calls me to find out what was going on and if I was all right… It’s such a minor thing. People messaged me about it,” Tchouameni noted.
”They want to know what happened, but these days you have to be very discreet. To reassure people, I had to tell them that nothing was wrong. I once saw an NFL documentary and these things happen there all the time.”
Tchouameni added that the incident forged a tighter bond between the two players rather than disrupt their relationship.
He concluded: “If you walk into the dressing room today, as the coach said, you’ll see that Fede and I are fine; there’s no problem between us.
”On the pitch, there’s no problem either – life goes on. And in fact, even these things bring you closer to the other person. We’re fine; we don’t have any problems.”
