Real Madrid announced on Friday that Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde had each been fined 500,000 euros ($588,000) following a training-ground altercation that reportedly left Valverde requiring hospital treatment.
The club confirmed that no sporting sanctions would be imposed on either player, stating that the financial penalty “thereby concludes the internal procedures” initiated over the incident.
Valverde is expected to miss Sunday’s El Clásico against FC Barcelona after suffering a head injury during the confrontation. The club added that he could be sidelined for up to two weeks.
Tchouameni, however, trained with the squad on Friday and may still feature at Camp Nou this weekend.
Madrid said both players “expressed their complete remorse for what happened and apologised to each other” during the club’s internal investigation.
“They extended their apologies to the club, their teammates, the coaching staff, and the fans, and both have made themselves available to Real Madrid to accept whatever sanction the club deems appropriate,” the club said in a statement.
Spanish reports said Valverde was taken to a hospital near the club’s Valdebebas training complex alongside coach Alvaro Arbeloa, where he received stitches for a facial injury.
Valverde later sought to play down the seriousness of the incident.
“The strain of the competition and frustration caused the situation to escalate,” he wrote on social media, while expressing disappointment over the attention the matter received in the media.
“I accidentally hit a table during the argument, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital,” he said.
“At no point did my team-mate hit me, and I didn’t hit him either.”
Reports in Spain claimed the pair clashed during training on Wednesday, with tensions carrying over into Thursday’s session. Valverde was said to have refused to shake Tchouameni’s hand and later fouled him during training before the disagreement reportedly continued in the dressing room.
Pressure has continued to mount at Real Madrid as the club faces the prospect of ending a second straight season without a major trophy.
Los Blancos trail Barcelona by 11 points at the top of La Liga, with Hansi Flick’s side capable of sealing consecutive league titles on Sunday if they avoid defeat.