Furious Dani Carvajal Floors Teammate With Brutal, Reckless Tackle

Dani Carvajal reportedly left a Real Madrid academy player sidelined for a month, as his frustration at the club continues to mount this season.

Despite being handed the club captaincy during the summer, the 34-year-old has had a turbulent campaign at the club he has called home his entire career.

The hero of the 2024 Champions League final has been reduced to a peripheral role following a serious knee injury sustained last year, with the arrival of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Federico Valverde's positional flexibility creating stiff competition for his spot.

Carvajal has managed just 12 La Liga appearances this season and has yet to start a single Champions League match—though he has come off the bench on five occasions.

As reported by MARCA, Carvajal is struggling to come to terms with his reduced role and is unlikely to be offered a new deal when his contract expires at the end of the summer.

Carvajal Lashes Out Over Bench Time

All of this has contributed to what are described as "dark days" for the experienced right back, with tensions reaching a breaking point in recent weeks.

According to the report, Carvajal reacted furiously to being benched during Madrid's victory over Rayo Vallecano in February, with his anger intensifying when academy prospect David Jiménez was handed the right back role ahead of him against Valencia the following week.

MARCA's report makes the striking claim that Carvajal's pent-up frustration spilled over during a training session, when a "very nasty tackle" delivered in a "fit of rage" left youth team defender Victor Valdepeñas nursing a knee injury that kept the 19-year-old out for a month.

Despite direct conversations between Carvajal and head coach Álvaro Arbeloa, his playing time has not improved meaningfully, with Alexander-Arnold being preferred in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg loss to Bayern Munich.

On a brighter note, Carvajal did receive a standing ovation from the home supporters for his performance in last month's 3–2 Madrid derby victory. However, that has since been his only appearance for the club.

More Headaches for Arbeloa

No entiendo las vueltas que le dais a las cosas.
El Míster es el que manda, pone y quita a los jugadores.
Tengo el máximo respeto hacia él y todo mis compañeros.
Un saludo a todos y Hala Madrid🤍 https://t.co/cznE2rwn8V

Carvajal is not the only Madrid defender at odds with Arbeloa, with reports suggesting that Raúl Asencio was dropped from the squad for several matches due to a recent disciplinary issue.

When supporters questioned his absence from the lineup, Asencio responded: "You should ask Arbeloa about that ... "

He subsequently tried to walk back his remarks on social media, writing: "I don't understand the fuss you all make about things. The manager is the one in charge, he puts the players in and takes them out. I have the utmost respect for him and all my teammates."

World Cup Doubts Adding to Carvajal Frustrations

Although officially serving as Spain's vice-captain, Carvajal was left out of the national team squad for the March international fixtures against Serbia and Egypt, casting doubt over his inclusion at this summer's World Cup.

National team boss Luis de la Fuente instead turned to Marcos Llorente and Pedro Porro to fill the right back berth, and was candid when addressing Carvajal's chances of reclaiming his place.

"Hopefully, Dani will recover the form he showed at the Euros," he said. "[Carvajal and Álvaro Morata] need to play, get back to their usual level, and then they'll be with us."

Andy Headspeath is a Real Madrid correspondent for Sports Illustrated FC. Originally from the UK, the weather, culture and soccer lured him to Spain over a decade ago where he lives with his wife, son and two untrainable dogs. A player of unspeakably limited talents and only one fully functional knee, he has more than a decade's experience in a wide variety of editorial roles within sports media, from match reporting to in-depth feature writing and interviews. He specializes in soccer history and culture, as well as—of course—La Liga.