Mourinho's icy Real Madrid dressing room and the Mbappé cycling row ahead of Villarreal
Cadena SER's Antón Meana says Real Madrid's dressing room remains as cold as it was five months ago under José Mourinho, with two players reportedly coming to blows. The club is also dealing with the Mbappé affair, after the striker, returning from a knee injury, posted a cycling video that Mourinho had publicly warned players against. Mbappé has resumed training and is expected to be available for Saturday's match against Villarreal.
Bottom line — Mourinho must restore order before a demanding October that includes a Champions League trip to Roma and a Clásico at Barcelona.
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Marca's Pablo Polo says Mourinho disliked how Mbappé managed his recovery, including arriving at Valdebebas after training had started on Monday.
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El Chiringuito's Pipi Estrada reports Mourinho gave Mbappé a dressing-down at breakfast, telling him he would defend him publicly but not in the dressing room.
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Kick Football, citing EFE, notes the cycling video does not show when the ride took place.
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Daily Mail reports Valverde and Tchouaméni were involved in a physical altercation in May; Cadena SER and El Goldigital say both were fined, though the Mail does not specify sanctions.
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Marca reports Mbappé has scored eight of Real's twenty goals this season, roughly 40% of the team's attacking output.
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FootballTransfers quotes French journalist Daniel Riolo suggesting Mbappé may be struggling mentally and that a departure at the end of the season is not ruled out.
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Goal.com reports Real have won five of seven La Liga matches and trail Barcelona by six points.
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Kick Football notes AS says Mbappé's recovery is progressing well and he could start against Villarreal, contrary to El Chiringuito's suggestion he could be benched.