Real Madrid’s star midfielder Federico Valverde has been accused of punching 21-year-old Villareal winger Alex Baena following Madrid’s 2-3 defeat to Villareal at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Even though the Los Blancos performed strongly throughout the whole match, they failed to get any points from the home fixture. The scoresheet opened in Madrid’s favor after Vinicius Jr.’s shot got deflected by Pau Torres and found itself in the back of the net in the 16th minute. Samuel Chukuweze equalized from inside the box in the 39th minute, tying the game at 1-1 in the first half.
Vinicius shone again in the second half, as he quickly gave Madrid the lead after a stunning finish in the 48th minute. Real continued to press throughout the match, with Villareal doing an equally decent job at defense.
Jose Morales, again from inside the box, made a sublime low-driven finish in the 70th minute that wasn’t initially given due to an offside decision. The decision, however, was withdrawn after a VAR review, and the match was drawn. Samuel Chukuweze went on to find another goal in the 80th minute, and the match ended 3-2 in Villareal’s favor.
Following the defeat, Valverde had an encounter with Alex Baena in the bus park, as everyone was leaving the stadium after the match. The two reportedly had a heated argument, which resulted in the 24-year-old Uruguayan punching the Villareal winger in the face.
Fede Valverde defines the meaning of "Madridismo".
Real Madrid’s future captain.
— Mikael (@MikaelMadridsta) April 8, 2023
Federico Valverde had “a very serious motive”
According to Valverde’s entourage, Baena’s “messing with his family” was “a very serious motive” for the attack. MARCA states that Valverde’s entourage acknowledges the aggression but explains it as a result of Villarreal’s loss to Real Madrid in their previous match.
I don’t think Valverde did anything wrong
Family first my boy 👊 pic.twitter.com/Qecv7YVfWl
— aa9skillz (@aa9skillz) April 8, 2023
Mina Bonino, Valvere’s wife, came dangerously close to miscarrying this year but gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Baena made a crying gesture toward Valverde during that cup match, which infuriated the Uruguayan.
“In the Copa del Rey match, Baena kicked Fede and told him: ‘cry now that your son is not going to be born.’ That stayed there, but today he said another similar thing to him, and Fede got heated. So he waited for him in the parking lot and told him that he was ‘not messing with his family,” said the entourage.
As of now, it is unclear what actions will be taken against Valverde. Baena is considering going to the police station regarding the incident.
