Alvaro Carreras has dismissed reports questioning his attitude at Real Madrid – but did appear to confirm an altercation with team-mate Antonio Rudiger did take place.
The left-back, who returned to the Santiago Bernabeu last summer for a fee of around €50 million from Benfica, has been at the centre of claims this week of disharmony within the club.
Numerous stories have emerged of dressing room discord, one of which alleged Carreras was slapped by Rudiger at the training ground in February.
As part of a statement clarifying his standing within the squad, the 22-year-old admitted there had been an issue but that it had now been resolved.
He wrote on his social media channels: “In recent days, certain insinuations and comments about me have emerged that do not correspond to reality.
“My commitment to this club and to the coaches I’ve had has been unwavering since day one, and it will continue to be so. Since I returned, I have always worked with the highest level of professionalism, respect, and dedication. I have fought very hard to fulfill my dream of returning home.
“Regarding the incident with a team-mate, it was an isolated matter without importance that has already been resolved. My relationship with the entire team is very good.”
Carreras incident latest in a season of woe for Real Madrid
Madrid has looked a largely unhappy club for much of the campaign with Xabi Alonso’s short tenure ending in January amid claims of player unrest while his successor Alvaro Arbeloa seems certain to leave this summer after failing to oversee an improvement.
In addition to the situation surrounding Carreras, Kylian Mbappe has come in for criticism for jetting away on holiday over the weekend while his team-mates played out a 2-0 win at Espanyol.
The France international is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained against Real Betis on April 24 and fighting to be fit for Sunday’s El Clasico clash with Barcelona at Camp Nou, a game from which their arch-rivals need just a point to clinch the title.
But rather than stay with the Madrid camp and focus on his recovery, Mbappe was pictured relaxing on a yacht off the coast of Sardinia with his girlfriend Ester Exposito.
It remains to be seen if Mbappe will play on Sunday but his representatives defended him yesterday with a statement that read: “A portion of the criticism is based on an over-interpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club, and does not reflect the reality of Kylian’s commitment and daily work for the team.”
