Jose Mourinho has reportedly been unable to stamp out the in-fighting in the Real Madrid dressing room after details of a recent altercation were leaked.
Mourinho was re-hired by the Real hierarchy in the summer and tasked with whipping the squad into shape after a rollercoaster campaign saw Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa fail to get to grips with all the competing egos.
Unrest Continues Despite Mourinho's Return
Real ended the 2025/26 campaign without any silverware, having finished second behind Barcelona in La Liga, been knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals and fallen in the last-16 of the Copa del Rey. The season unravelled at the end, with Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde fined €500,000 (£432,000) for a training ground fight.
Real president Florentino Perez had hoped that Mourinho and his authoritarian style would change the culture, but tensions remain high. A report by Spanish radio station Cadena Ser says the atmosphere is 'icy' after two unnamed players came to blows in the dressing room recently.
Mbappe and Asensio Under Scrutiny
Things have not been helped by Kylian Mbappe, who is at the centre of some of the tension. Having infuriated fans by missing key games last season due to a mysterious injury, the Frenchman has made headlines once again for visiting a Parisian nightclub with his girlfriend and videoing himself cycling in the Alps shortly after ruling himself out of international duty through injury.
The cycling appeared to be a flagrant breaking of a rule imposed by Mourinho against cycling. "You are a football player 24 hours a day," Mourinho said. "Everything reflects the job. What you eat, what you drink, how you sleep, even things in your private life. You cannot ski. You cannot ride a bike."
"You fall off your bike, and you don't play three matches maybe, or maybe worse, maybe you break a leg... there are a lot of things you have to give up to be a football player."
Mourinho struggling to get a handle on things was also shown this week by Raul Asensio being convicted of drink driving. The defender has apologised after being fined and having his driver's licence suspended for eight months for driving under the influence.
Asked in an interview with AS about Mourinho's words on professionalism, Asensio admitted his mistake.
"He was absolutely right," he said. "Ultimately, people form opinions based on what's reported and what they see. I made a mistake. I admitted it then and I admit it now; I've apologised and I'll continue to do so. I'm a 23-year-old lad and I've made mistakes, just as we all do at that age.
"But I have to be aware of where I am. I'm at Real Madrid and that can't happen again. I'm taking this seriously and my only focus is on turning this situation around. I'm the one who's most upset about it."
"I dream of turning it all around and winning trophies with this club and in this shirt - hopefully for the rest of my career. That's why situations like this won't happen again."
