Real Madrid punish Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni with huge fine

Real Madrid have sent a strong message by imposing a heavy fine on Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni after a physical altercation on Thursday that left Valverde in hospital for further treatment.

The two midfielders were caught up in a verbal duel in training on Wednesday, which later translated to both players having a go at each other with rough tackles on Thursday.

The situation could have been handled differently and maturely; however, in the heat of the moment, an avoidable broil escalated into something else.

Both midfielders have now received a huge punishment of a €500,000 (£432,100) fine each after their training ground fight this week.

The confrontation left the Uruguay international with a head injury after striking a table during the incident, requiring medical attention and treatment for a cut sustained in the altercation. As a result, he is expected to miss the La Liga clash with Barcelona on Sunday.

A statement from Madrid on Friday read: “Real Madrid C. F. announces that, following the events that led to the disciplinary proceedings initiated yesterday against our players Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, 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.

‘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.”

Earlier on, Valverde had attempted to clear the air, calming nerves about the incident with an official statement, insisting he was not struck by Tchouameni and telling Madrid supporters he is “truly sorry for this situation”.

“Yesterday, I had an incident with a teammate stemming from a play during training, a situation where the fatigue of competition and sheer frustration caused everything to get blown out of proportion,” Valverde said.