Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde had to be taken to hospital after getting into a fight with teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni just three days before the Clasico against Barcelona, sources have told ESPN.

The fight broke out during training on Thursday and comes just a day after Marca reported that the two midfielders had already been involved in an altercation during Wednesday's training session.

Valverde, according to a source, required stitches after sustaining a cut during the scrap with Tchouaméni.

A source has told ESPN that the fight broke out at the end of training, following a practice match with some heavy challenges. Tchouaméni went to the changing room, and Valverde then entered, looking very tense. That's where they got into a fight.

A second source told ESPN that Valverde kicked Tchouaméni during training, then they insulted each other, and Tchouaméni went for Valverde and hit him badly. The tension between them started when Xabi Alonso was still at the club, the source added.

ESPN has got in touch with Valverde's entourage to hear his version of events but they have declined to comment.

Los Blancos also did not respond to ESPN when asked if they were planning to launch an investigation into any of the players.

Real Madrid visit Barcelona on Sunday shrouded by uncertainty after another trophyless season.

Last Friday, ESPN revealed that the bad results had moved into the dressing room, and that there had already been several incidents of tension since the start of the season.

Sources told ESPN about another moment of tension when Antonio Rüdiger lost his nerve and caused a heated altercation with a teammate at Valdebebas.

ESPN did not reveal the name of the other person involved at the time, but Álvaro Carreras himself confirmed in a statement that he had had an altercation with a teammate.

In that report, ESPN also revealed other arguments over the last few weeks between Real Madrid manager Álvaro Arbeloa and several of his players, including Dani Ceballos and another with Raúl Asencio.

Moreover, it is well known that there has been a lack of rapport between club captain Dani Carvajal and Arbeloa since the latter took over as manager.

Following Xabi Alonso's sacking, ESPN revealed that the manager left Real Madrid with friction towards three key players in the dressing room -- Vinícius Júnior, Valverde and Jude Bellingham.

Other sources told ESPN that in the last few weeks there have also been some incidents involving another star of the team, Kylian Mbappé with members of Arbeloa's staff.

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Madrid, meanwhile, are still searching for what will be their fourth manager in the last two years.

Regarding this, sources have informed ESPN that there are differing views between those responsible for selecting the new manager and that there is a long list of candidates, including Jose Mourinho, Jürgen Klopp, Didier Deschamps, Lionel Scaloni, Massimiliano Allegri and even Unai Emery.

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