Training ground bust-ups, Mbappe reaction, Mourinho links: Real Madrid in turmoil ahead of El Clasico settlement

Camp Nou has waited 1,148 days for a new El Clásico. Barcelona returns to its rebuilt home after years of renovation schemes and temporary arrangements with the kind of occasion that writes itself. Beat Real Madrid on Sunday, or even keep it a draw, and the competition is won. For Madrid that is the most uncomfortable part of the trip. It travels there with its own house in disarray.

Barcelona goes into the game with an eleven-point lead, with four games to go, and has the title in hand. Hansi Flick’s side have turned the run-in into a procession, and the arithmetic is cruel for Madrid.

Anything short of a win at Camp Nou will confirm Barcelona as La Liga champions with three games to go. Even a win in Madrid would delay what seemed inevitable.

At Real Madrid, inevitability has taken a different form. A season that started with the promise of another star-studded project is about to end without a major trophy for the second year in a row.

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Xabi Alonso did not survive January when Alvaro Arbeloa intervened after the Spanish Super Cup final defeat to Barcelona. Arbeloa’s debut secured an exit in the Copa del Rey against second division club Albacete, and the Champions League campaign later ended in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich.

The simulation tension has now boiled over off the field. According to Spanish media reports, Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni had to be separated two days in a row after an argument on the training ground. That followed reports of an incident involving Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Carreras, which Carreras later described on Instagram as an isolated issue that had been resolved. Dani Ceballos has also been caught reporting a strained relationship with Arbeloa.

Each episode on its own can be dismissed as the heat of a failing season. Together they point to a group that has lost its center. Madrid has said goodbye to much of the old dressing room order in recent years.

Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos represented more than matches and medals. They were points of reference, the kind of players who could stabilize a room before a crack became a split. In their absence, Arbeloa has inherited a squad rich in talent but lacking in composure.

The Kylian Mbappé issue has become the most visible symbol of that unrest. Madrid’s top scorer, with 41 goals in as many games this season, is doubtful for the Clásico after the club confirmed a hamstring injury in his left leg. Yet the injury has not protected him from criticism. His trip to Sardinia with an actor during his recovery sparked anger from parts of the fanbase, while an online ‘Mbappe out’ petition spread across social media.

There’s an easy story to tell there: the superstar, the holiday, the anger. But Madrid’s problems are not that simple. Mbappe has scored enough to avoid becoming the sole statement. The bigger problem is what the club looks like around him: a team without rhythm, a coach fighting for authority, the number of injuries on the rise and a summer rebuild that is already in the air every match.

Ferland Mendy’s latest setback has deepened that feeling. The defender suffered a tendon injury to his right leg during the win over Espanyol, another blow to an already stretched team. Thibaut Courtois’ return to training offers some relief, but Madrid arrive in Barcelona with too many questions.

Even the management conversation has become a distraction. Florentino Perez is reportedly considering a new move, with Jose Mourinho linked with a possible return. Mourinho would bring strength, authority and discipline. Whether he would bring stability remains to be seen.

That’s why Sunday’s Clasico feels heavier than the league standings. Barcelona can turn his homecoming into a coronation. Madrid can delay it and perhaps salvage some pride from a season that has ended quickly. These are not normal times for Real Madrid.

At Camp Nou, Madrid will be asked to do what it has done so many times in its history: stand up when the room collapses. This time, however, the opponent is not just Barcelona. It is the chaos that Madrid carries with it.

Published on May 7, 2026