Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde handed heavy fines after altercation

By Edward Elliot, Press Association Sport

Real Madrid have fined Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni €500,000 each following their training-ground altercation.

The duo were reported to have fought at the end of Thursday’s training session following a previous incident on Wednesday.

Valverde went to hospital with a head injury after a dressing room row with Tchouameni, but denied the pair “came to blows”.

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Real said the two players expressed “complete remorse” during an internal disciplinary process which has resulted in hefty financial penalties.

A club statement read: “Real Madrid CF announces that, following the events that led to the disciplinary proceedings initiated yesterday against our players Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, both appeared today before the investigator assigned to the case.

“During their appearance, the players expressed their complete remorse for what happened and apologised to each other.

“Furthermore, they extended their apologies to the club, their team-mates, the coaching staff and the fans, and both have made themselves available to Real Madrid to accept whatever sanction the club deems appropriate.

“Under these circumstances, Real Madrid has decided to impose a financial penalty of five hundred thousand euros on each player, thereby concluding the corresponding internal procedures.”

Real travel to LaLiga leaders Barcelona on Sunday, bidding to prevent their rivals securing the title.

Valverde will miss the game after the club announced on Thursday he had been diagnosed with a “cranioencephalic trauma” which would keep him sidelined for 10-14 days.

The Uruguay midfielder, 27, later posted a lengthy statement on Instagram – without mentioning 26-year-old France international Tchouameni by name – in which he insisted the incident had been “blown out of proportion”.

“Yesterday (Wednesday) I had an incident with a team-mate during a training session,” wrote Valverde.

“Today (Thursday) we had another disagreement. During the argument, I accidentally hit a table, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital.

“At no point did my team-mate hit me and I didn’t hit him either, although I understand it’s easier for you to believe we came to blows or that it was intentional, but that didn’t happen.”

The disciplinary proceedings are the latest in a string of recent controversies at Real, with defender Antonio Rudiger reportedly apologising to the squad for another training-ground clash.

Star striker Kylian Mbappe was then reported to have been involved in an angry exchange with a member of the club’s coaching staff who was acting as an assistant referee in a training match.

Mbappe, who is recovering from a hamstring injury and is a doubt for El Clasico this weekend, has also faced criticism for a trip to Italy with his partner.

The 27-year-old arrived back shortly before kick-off for last Sunday’s 2-0 win at Espanyol.