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Barcelona's Gavi spoke candidly, calling out Real Madrid and Álvaro Arbeloa's management of the Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni incident, stating that if a physical altercation did occur, the coach "made a mistake" by allowing the Frenchman to feature in El Clásico.
The reported physical confrontation between Valverde and Tchouaméni left the Uruguayan with a traumatic brain injury, and the controversy has dominated headlines since early May. Valverde later came forward to deny that any physical exchange took place, yet he still missed the match against Barcelona due to the injury sustained during the dispute.
Nevertheless, speculation about what truly happened inside Real Madrid's dressing room just days before a title-deciding El Clásico has persisted. When asked to weigh in during an extensive interview with Mundo Deportivo, Gavi offered a clear perspective on the matter, especially regarding how it should have been handled.
"My view is that there will always be friction between teammates," the Barcelona midfielder said. "Whether it's in training or at some point during the season, because that's just how it goes — everyone is competitive, and that's a positive thing, up to a certain point, of course.
"Ultimately, I think that if things escalate to the point where punches are thrown — which I don't know if they were — then it's the manager who has to step in and leave them out. So if it's true that they came to blows, then in my opinion [Arbeloa] made an error picking [Tchouaméni] and letting him play. But I genuinely don't know what happened, so I can't say much more than that."
But Gavi's pointed remarks aimed at Real Madrid didn't end there.
Gavi Throws Dart At Real Madrid Referee Complaints
Real Madrid's current and former players, coaches and, most notably, president Florentino Pérez have repeatedly sought to undermine Barcelona's titles, largely citing the Negreira case, in which Real Madrid claim Barcelona paid former vice president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) refereeing committee José María Enríquez Negreira.
Los Blancos' ongoing campaign against referees, holding them accountable for Barcelona's achievements, even pushed the Catalans to explore potential legal action. When questioned about Madrid's relentless grievances, Gavi made clear he has little concern for what Barça's fiercest rival has to say.
"It's always going to be this way," Gavi said. "Everyone knows that Madrid will always try to undermine or discredit what we achieve, the titles we win. We shouldn't let that bother us.
"As I've said before, winning two consecutive La Liga titles is a tremendous achievement, especially with so many homegrown players from La Masia and without heavy investment in the transfer market. Very few signings have been made, while other clubs spend heavily every season. That's something we should be genuinely proud of."
Gavi Admits He Wanted to Win La Liga in El Clasico
Barcelona were crowned 2025–26 La Liga champions after beating Real Madrid in El Clásico on May 10, marking the first time in the history of the fixture that the league title was settled in a head-to-head encounter.
However, Barcelona could have sealed the title a week earlier had Real Madrid dropped points against Espanyol. For Gavi, the opportunity to secure back-to-back league titles while simultaneously ending Real Madrid's hopes of any silverware was precisely the outcome he had hoped for.
"Honestly, I wanted Madrid to beat Espanyol," Gavi admitted. "Just so we could beat them ourselves and lift La Liga at home in front of our fans. And that's exactly what happened, which makes it even sweeter for me."
Barcelona and Gavi have now claimed three of the last four La Liga titles. The first two were sealed at the ground of Catalan rivals Espanyol, and the latest was celebrated in a historic home El Clásico victory.