In the last 24 hours, there has been a lot of talk surrounding a supposed rift between Real Madrid vice-captain Fede Valverde and head coach Xabi Alonso.
The Uruguay international was an unused substitute during the Champions League victory over Kairat Almaty on Tuesday, having supposedly refused to play at right-back in the absence of injured pair Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal.
Valverde has since denied these claims, but it has not stopped people giving their thoughts on the matter. And one person to side with the player is journalist Roberto Gomez, who criticised Alonso’s handling of the Real Madrid midfielder when speaking on Radio Marca.
"What has annoyed me is Xabi Alonso’s attitude with the Real Madrid captain. Some days he is at full-back, others in the centre, others on the bench. I don’t like that the Real Madrid coach makes that determination with such an important player, who is the captain as Valverde."
"It’s been years since I’ve heard a Real Madrid player talk about commitment and attitude that he doesn’t play, alongside Bellingham, seems to me to be an internal bill after what happened at the Metropolitano. It feels very vindictive, what he has done to Valverde – for me, it has no name."
In the last couple of seasons on Carlo Ancelotti’s tenure, Valverde was the one constant in Real Madrid’s line-ups. He started – and usually played every minute – every match, but Alonso has been keen to manage his minutes in the early stages of his tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It had been a fantastic start to the season for Real Madrid, but after the Madrid derby defeat at Atletico Madrid, there are cracks starting to show. Alonso will be keen to stop these in their tracks as soon as possible.