Marca has revealed a major disagreement between Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa and defender Raúl Asensio after the player refused to follow his coach’s instructions and apologize to the team.
Until the beginning of March, Asensio was one of Real Madrid’s most consistent performers, despite playing while potentially injured. He then suddenly missed the team’s last six matches, citing muscle pain.
According to the latest report, Asensio is not injured and has been training normally for almost a month. His exclusion from matches is a disciplinary decision by Arbeloa.
The problem began before the first leg against Manchester City, when Asensio was at the peak of his form, but he was dropped in favor of Dean Hoesen. The 23-year-old defender felt he deserved to play after his fighting spirit and enduring the pain.
The crisis escalated before the 4-1 victory against Elche (which took place between the two matches against City), when Asensio entered Arbeloa’s office at the last minute accompanied by a doctor, claiming he was injured and unable to play.
Since he was expected to start, Arbeloa was forced to call up Antonio Rüdiger instead, even though the German was also struggling to regain his fitness. Rüdiger was far from pleased with this situation, given the meticulous and rigorous preparations he undertakes when he knows he will be starting.
Arbeloa did not take kindly to this behavior and excluded Asensio not only from the squad for the second leg against City but also from the Madrid derby. The coach considered it a matter of “discipline” within the dressing room, and before a training session, Arbeloa bluntly asked, “Does anyone have anything to say?”
Arbeloa believed Asensio should apologize for his actions, but felt it was unwarranted. Asensio did not respond to the coach’s question in front of the group, resulting in his exclusion from the Atlético Madrid squad once again.
During the international break, Asensio finally apologized to his teammates and was subsequently included in the squad for last Saturday’s match against Real Mallorca.
However, Asensio ultimately did not feature in the matches against Mallorca and Bayern Munich, remaining on the bench. He now occupies the fourth-choice center-back position at Real Madrid, behind Hoesen, Rüdiger, and Éder Militão, who is returning from an ACL injury.
Asensio may get a chance to return to action in the match against Girona next Friday, allowing the first-team regulars to rest before the crucial second leg against Bayern Munich next Wednesday.
