Real Madrid registered a comfortable 2-0 victory over Real Oviedo in their La Liga clash at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, after the game, the atmosphere changed in the Spanish capital as a new controversy broke out in the post-match conferences. Kylian Mbappe, who missed the El Classico against Barcelona, returned to the scheme of things, but interestingly, began the game on the bench. When he was finally put on in the 69th minute, he was welcomed with whistles from sections of the home support.
The French attacker and Thibaut Courtois were the only players who were not booed earlier in the season. However, things changed drastically in the last few weeks, especially as the Los Blancos now head towards their second successive season without a trophy.
After the game, when Mbappe was asked about his fitness leading to the FIFA World Cup, the France captain noted that he is 100% fit. That eventually raised the question of him coming in the second half of the match, instead of starting. To which, the forward indicated a broken relationship with head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, stating that the manager called him a fourth-choice attacker in the squad.
"I'm well, I'm 100%. I didn't play because the coach [Arbeloa] told me I'm the fourth-choice forward in the squad behind [Franco] Mastantuono, Vinícius [Júnior] and Gonzalo. I accept it and play the time I'm given. I think I played well,” Mbappe said. “I was ready to start. I'm not angry with the manager. You always have to respect a coach's decision. I'll work hard to get back into the starting lineup,” he added.
Arbeloa dismisses Mbappe’s claims
Arbeloa quickly disputed that version of events when speaking at his media conference. He claimed that Mbappe couldn’t understand him well and added that Real Madrid don’t even have four forwards to consider.
"I wish I had four forwards. I don't have four forwards, and I certainly didn't say anything like that to Mbappé. Perhaps he didn't understand me. I don't know what else to tell you. At no point could I tell him that he's the fourth-choice forward,” Arbeloa said.
"I'm the coach, and I'm the one who decides who plays and who doesn't. I had a conversation with him before the match. I don't know how he might have interpreted it. A player who wasn't on the bench four days ago shouldn't start today. It's not a final, it's not a do-or-die situation. ... That's all. I don't have any problem with anyone."
The recent episode in Madrid further explains the poor state of the club at the moment. There were reports of tensions between Antonio Rudiger and Carreras, followed by a physical altercation between club captain Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, then a controversial press conference by president Florentino Perez, and now the Arbeloa-Mbappe saga.
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