Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde allegedly assaulted Villarreal midfielder Alex Baena after Saturday’s LaLiga match, prompting Baena to file a complaint with the police.
Shortly after the game, Valverde and Baena reportedly had a heated confrontation involving Spain’s Under-21 international.
Sports newspaper AS reported that, while making his way to the Villarreal team bus and looking at his phone, Baena was punched.
Reports indicate that Baena insulted Valverde’s family
Baena assisted Samuel Chukwueze’s late goal as Villarreal secured a 3-2 victory over Madrid in the LaLiga contest at the Santiago Bernabeu, in which he played a full part.
Villarreal issued a statement late on Sunday confirming police involvement and expressing support for Baena. The statement did not refer to Valverde by name.
Club’s statement reads: “Villarreal CF player Alex Baena was assaulted last night while on his way to the team bus after the match against Real Madrid CF at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
“Faced with this situation, the player has decided to file a complaint against the aggressor with the police.
“Once again, Villarreal CF rejects any act of violence and firmly believes in the player’s version of events and will support him throughout this process.”
Baena denied making crude personal remarks about Valverde before the alleged attack.
He has played over 50 matches for Villarreal since his senior debut in July 2020 and has represented Spain at every age-grade level from under-16.
As of yet, Valverde and Los Blancos have not commented on the alleged incident from Saturday.
