Gavi Criticizes Real Madrid's Training Clash Response
The Bernabeu is rarely quiet, even in June. This time, though, the noise isn’t coming from Real Madrid. It’s coming from Barcelona’s midfield.
Gavi has stepped straight into the heart of Madrid’s latest storm, and he hasn’t bothered to lower his voice.
Gavi calls out Madrid’s handling of training-ground clash
Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, the Barcelona midfielder addressed reports of a fierce confrontation between Aurélien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde at Valdebebas – a clash said to have escalated over two days, turned physical, and left Valverde needing stitches and hospital treatment.
For Gavi, there is a clear line between intensity and violence. And Real Madrid, in his eyes, crossed it.
"I am one of those who thinks that there are always going to be scraps there with your teammates training at a time of the season, because that is how it is, it is competitiveness and that is always fine up to a point, obviously," he said.
That “point” came when the incident reportedly turned into blows. At that moment, Gavi believes responsibility had to shift to the bench – specifically to Alvaro Arbeloa.
“If it comes to blows, the coach should not play him”
The Barcelona man did not hide his disapproval of how Madrid responded, particularly the decision to use Tchouameni almost immediately afterwards. The Frenchman started against Barcelona on May 10, a 2-0 defeat that sealed La Liga for the Catalans.
"But in the end, if it comes to blows, well then the coach should not play him," Gavi insisted. "If it is true that they came to blows, for me he made a mistake by calling him [Tchouameni] up and making him play. But I don't know the truth of what happened either."
It was a pointed criticism. In Gavi’s view, the heat of a title run-in does not justify fists flying, and it certainly does not justify business as usual the next weekend.
The message was clear: competitiveness is part of the game; impunity is not.
Responding to Florentino and the “robbed titles”
The conversation did not stay on the training pitch for long. Inevitably, it drifted to the rivalry that shapes Spanish football and to the latest chapter in the off-field war of words.
Florentino Pérez recently invoked the Negreira case to claim Real Madrid had been "robbed" of seven La Liga titles. For Barcelona, already under scrutiny and operating with financial constraints, those comments cut deep. For Gavi, they fit a familiar pattern.
"Everything knows that from Madrid they are always going to belittle or take credit away from the things that we win or our titles," he said. "So that shouldn't matter to us. As I tell you, it has a lot of merit to win two Leagues in a row with many homegrown people, many people from La Masia and without many signings."
There was no attempt to soften the accusation. In his eyes, Madrid’s discourse is designed to erode Barcelona’s achievements, to cast doubt on trophies won in the middle of a rebuild.
Pride in La Masia amid contrasting models
Gavi’s defence of Barcelona was not just emotional; it was structural. He drew a sharp contrast between the two clubs’ transfer policies and the paths they have taken in recent years.
While Real Madrid continue to attract headline signings, Barcelona have been forced to turn inward, leaning heavily on La Masia and a thin stream of carefully chosen arrivals. For a player who embodies that youth-first approach, the success of this model is personal.
"In the end there have been very few signings. Other teams have signed many players every year and it is something to be proud of," he said.
Two consecutive league titles, built around academy products and patched together during one of the most delicate financial periods in the club’s modern history, are his evidence.
The message from Barcelona’s young midfielder is as blunt as one of his tackles: Madrid can talk, complain, and claim they were robbed. Barcelona, he insists, have already answered where it matters most – on the pitch, with kids from La Masia carrying the weight of a giant.
