Tchouameni denies punching Valverde in first comments on Valdebebas training-ground row

Aurélien Tchouameni has denied punching Fede Valverde during their training-ground altercation at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas complex, speaking publicly about the incident for the first time. Both players were fined €500,000 by the club following the confrontation, which left Valverde requiring hospital treatment and stitches to his head.

“A lot of nonsense was said in the press. I read that there was a fight and that I had punched him… which wasn’t the case,” Tchouameni told Diario AS. “I won’t go into more detail. The most important thing is that the club was aware of what happened.”

The French midfielder was keen to draw a line under the episode, emphasising that his relationship with Valverde remains intact. “Fede and I have a common goal: to win titles with Real Madrid. There are no problems,” he said. “And if I face him in the World Cup, we’ll be eager to win with the French national team. On a personal level, there are no problems with Valverde right now.”

Valverde had already addressed the matter earlier this week upon joining the Uruguay squad ahead of the World Cup. The 27-year-old declined to go into specifics and had initially denied being struck by Tchouameni, instead framing the incident as a personal lesson, describing it as an opportunity for him to “grow and mature.”

Despite the severity of the financial penalties handed down, Real Madrid’s hierarchy appeared less troubled by the altercation itself than by the fact it became public. Then-manager Álvaro Arbeloa said that “what really hurts” was that someone had leaked the story to the media. President Florentino Pérez echoed that sentiment, warning that the person responsible for the leak would lose their job and noting that “players fight every year,” reportedly calling the leak “worse than the fight itself.”

Tchouameni’s comments close a notable chapter of internal turbulence at the Bernabéu club, even as both players prepare to represent their respective nations at the World Cup.