Mbappe Petition Spurs Real Madrid Training Row Before Betis
Kylian Mbappe became the focus of a petition backlash after a flare-up with a Real Madrid coach during a training exercise before the April 24 trip to Real Betis. Sources said Mbappe spoke angrily and in insulting terms toward the member of staff after the assistant referee on the sidelines called him offside.
The episode added to criticism inside Real Madrid, where several people close to the club said the team did not take a firmer stance. Antonio Rudiger had already been involved in a heated argument with another first-team player in the dressing rooms at the training ground in April, and several sources said Rudiger instigated that confrontation before he later apologised.
Real Madrid training ground disputes
Mbappe’s clash came on April 24, before Real Madrid played Real Betis, and it landed in a dressing room already dealing with friction. There is no suggestion that Mbappe or Rudiger faced internal punishment, but the sequence of arguments has kept attention on how the club manages senior players when emotions spill over at the training ground.
Mbappe has still been productive on the field, scoring 41 goals in 41 games in all competitions for Real Madrid this season. That production has not stopped scrutiny of his conduct, including internal criticism over a trip to Italy with his partner and the training-ground exchange with the coach.
Rudiger apologised in April
Rudiger invited his team-mates and their families to lunch on Friday after apologising for his actions in the April dressing-room argument. That response did not erase the fact that the incidents came after Real Madrid’s Champions League elimination by Bayern Munich last month, with the club under pressure as it prepared for a decisive Clasico on Sunday.
Mbappe was given some days off last week while recovering from the hamstring injury he suffered against Real Betis on April 24. He arrived back in Madrid on Sunday evening before kick-off in the away match at Espanyol, and Real Madrid beat Espanyol 2-0 with two goals from Vinicius Jr.
Arbeloa on Madrid planning
Arbeloa was asked about Mbappe three times in his post-match press conference after the Espanyol match. He said, “In their free time, each player does what they see fit, and I don’t get involved in that,” and added, “All planning regarding injured players is supervised and managed by Madrid’s medical staff, who are the ones who decide when they need to go to Valdebebas (the club’s training centre) and when they don’t.”
The statement left Madrid’s internal routine unchanged: the medical staff handle injured players’ schedules, while the club continues to manage the fallout from the April flare-ups behind the scenes. The next decisive test sits in the same place those tensions have already been felt, on the training ground and in the hours before the Clasico.
