Alvaro Arbeloa defended Kylian Mbappé after a video of him laughing amid Real Madrid scandal. Real Madrid did not have a normal training week before Sunday’s El Clásico against Barcelona. The Federico Valverde incident with Aurélien Tchouaméni drew most of the attention, but that same day Kylian Mbappé was seen leaving the training ground laughing, and Álvaro Arbeloa defended him.
Arbeloa said: “For a player to leave the training ground laughing is taking things out of context and putting them out of place. We all know the effort he made to come to Real Madrid and what he gave up. We all saw him wearing the shirt as a kid.”
The issue came up after a video posted by El Chiringuito last Thursday, the same day Valverde went to the hospital for stitches after the scandal. While it may not be a major mistake, it is not helpful for a player like Mbappé, who is already under scrutiny, to do something like that, especially after the kind of year the club had last season.
🚨 IMAGEN @elchiringuitotv 🚨🤣 MBAPPÉ ABANDONA VALDEBEBAS ‘PARTIÉNDOSE de RISA’.🇫🇷 El francés ha completado hoy parte del entrenamiento con el grupo. pic.twitter.com/nVcMLKiX1d— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) May 7, 2026
Arbeloa’s authority under scrutiny
The main takeaway from the incident was not only whether the dressing room is united after a bad year. The clash between the midfielders was not the only issue, since they had already argued the day before.
If a manager wants to be at a club this big, he has to be able to deal with players who have major egos because of their status, which is something Arbeloa could not do after a repeated incident, and also when Mbappé took a short trip while injured.
Arbeloa said about Mbappé’s arrival in Spain when his teammates were about to play against Espanyol: “I feel with the complete authority of a Real Madrid manager. In the end, they are respecting their current manager and as a player that is the most important thing.”
Arbeloa dismisses players having too much power
Dressing room conflicts are the players’ responsibility, but the manager has to be a leader so they do not affect the team. Real Madrid have not played since the incident, but it brought back the topic of how much power players may have, which was also a talking point after Xabi Alonso’s dismissal.
Arbeloa said: “I don’t know what that means. When a Real Madrid player does not play, it is because of a sporting decision. I choose the one I think deserves it most. Fans can be calm with this dressing room and these players. These are difficult situations, but there is nobody more ready to improve this than the president of our club.”