Tchouaméni-Valverde: Mourinho certifies feud is in the past

Aurélien Tchouaméni made his competitive return Wednesday evening with Real Madrid, coming on in the 81st minute against Inter. A comeback closely watched, as the French midfielder was reuniting with Federico Valverde, with whom he had a violent altercation in the dressing room at the end of last season.

José Mourinho quickly dispelled any doubt about the state of their relationship. In a press conference, the Portuguese manager stated he had no mediation to carry out between the two players, who both feature in his plans in midfield in his 4-2-3-1.

“I had nothing to do with it, they sorted it out themselves,” Mourinho said, cited by Marca. “Empathy within the group, friendship, shared victories and defeats, the fact of coming off the bench angry but supporting your teammates on the pitch… The group is fantastic.”

On the specific case of the Frenchman and the Uruguayan, Mourinho was even more explicit: “Even if I had known nothing about it, instead of being aware of everything, they would have seemed to me to be very good friends. When Aurélien arrived, I was attentive because I had to know if I needed to intervene and play mediator — he smiles — but I had nothing to do with it. They sorted it out themselves.”

Tchouaméni, injured after the World Cup, thus returns to a calmer dressing room. Mourinho now has his two midfielders earmarked as starters, a significant advantage for the rest of the season.