This Friday, Real Madrid closed the disciplinary file opened against Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with a historic financial penalty of 500 thousand euros for each player, the highest in the recent history of the institution. Both footballers appeared before the investigator of the file, acknowledged their mistake, showed regret and apologized to each other, to the club, to the locker room, to the coaching staff and to the fans.
The official statement from Real Madrid was clear about this. “Following the events that motivated the opening of the disciplinary file, both have appeared today before the investigator of the file,” stated the club, thus concluding the corresponding internal procedures with the financial sanction as the only punishment.
Despite the forcefulness of the financial punishment, Real Madrid decided not to apply any sporting sanction to either of the two players. Neither Valverde, who will be out for between 10 and 14 days due to the craniocerebral trauma diagnosed after the fight, nor Tchouaméni will be separated from the team dynamics nor will they miss games due to a disciplinary decision.
The French midfielder, Tchouaméni, will travel normally to Barcelona to play the Clásico on Sunday, May 10 at the Camp Nou, available for Álvaro Arbeloa despite the scandal experienced in the last few hours in Valdebebas. The reconciliation between both players had begun before the appearance before the club.
According to published information, Valverde and Tchouaméni had had a face-to-face conversation to resolve their differences hours after the fight, and on Friday morning both apologized to all their teammates and the coaching staff for the two scenes that took place in less than 24 hours. With this decision, Real Madrid seeks to resolve the incident internally with an exemplary financial punishment without weakening the squad at a key moment of the season.
A message of authority
The fine of 500 thousand euros for each player represents a message of authority from Real Madrid at a particularly delicate moment for the club. With Valverde out due to injury, the locker room in turmoil and Sunday’s Clásico at the Camp Nou where Barcelona could become LaLiga champions, the white board opted for a historic financial sanction that makes it clear that this type of behavior has no place in the institution.
Tchouaméni will be available for the Clásico on Sunday the 10th at the Camp Nou, where Real Madrid will arrive with the need to win to prevent Barcelona from mathematically being proclaimed champion of LaLiga 2025-26 in front of their own stadium in what would be one of the most painful moments for the Merengue fans in recent years.