On video: Carvajal shocks Real Madrid fans: we had many fist fights!
Real Madrid dressing room battles
Dani Carvajal has spoken with striking candour about the dressing-room tension that gripped Real Madrid last season. The former captain played down the well-known clash between Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, insisting such incidents are normal in professional football.
Speaking at length to Manu Carreno on "El Larguero" on "Cadena SER" radio, the veteran full-back, who left the Bernabeu after 13 years with the first team, said: "No, it was not that important at all. I have been at Real Madrid for many years, and the players have come to blows several times, but it had no consequences."
A brawl that ends with a head wound
The row between the two midfielders caused a huge stir. A sharp verbal exchange inside the dressing room turned physical, and the fight is said to have left Valverde with a head wound that required stitches, dragging the team's atmosphere into public debate during a difficult season without silverware.
Carvajal believes the episode grew bigger than it really was simply because it went public, stressing that internal disagreements do not necessarily point to permanent divisions in the dressing room.
The leak upsets the captain
What really stirred his displeasure was not the fight itself. It was the speed with which the story reached the press.
He said plainly: "The strange thing about this matter is the leak, as it was published in the press after just half an hour. I am a believer in the need to keep the dressing room confidential, and this really bothers me."
Discretion matters hugely in an environment as competitive as Real Madrid, where any internal incident can detonate into a media bombshell.
A difficult season with no titles
Carvajal admitted his role as captain last season ranked among the hardest periods of his career, with no titles, relentless media pressure and whispers running through the squad.
He said: "I had to be captain in my second year without titles, and managing the dressing room and dealing with the whispers is no easy thing."
Humility, he stressed, has always defined his leadership. He never demanded privileges based on his career or the captain's armband, before turning the page on Los Blancos and taking up a fresh challenge in a Getafe shirt.
