Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde opens up on Álex Baena clash: “It’s not football, a line was crossed”

Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde has broken his silence over the much-talked-about altercation between the Uruguayan and Villarreal’s Álex Baena.

For those not familiar with the story, back in April, midfielder Valverde was at the heart of something of a media storm.

This came upon reports spreading in Spain that the Uruguayan international had punched aforementioned Villarreal player Álex Baena.

Valverde waited for the Spaniard in the parking lot of the Santiago Bernabéu, before striking him in the face on the back of Villarreal’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Real.

This came, it was claimed, after Baena aimed an insult at Valverde regarding his then-unborn son, amid a high-risk pregnancy for his wife.

The former ultimately opted to file a complaint, but the matter has long been resolved. As alluded to above, though, the subject of his clash with Baena was put to Valverde once more.

And the 25-year-old, on this occasion, opted to shed some light on the situation.

Speaking in an interview with The Players’ Tribune, as cited by Sport, Valverde all but admitted to his role in the post-match chaos, albeit only before confirming that, as reported, Baena did indeed insult his family:

“After a game in April against Villarreal, things hit rock bottom. Everyone knows the headlines. They know both sides of the story. I don’t want to bring up these ugly things again. All I want to say is this: on a football pitch you can call me almost whatever you want and it doesn’t bother me, but there are certain lines that you don’t cross. Not as a footballer, but as a human being. Speaking of my family, it’s not football anymore. That day, a line was crossed.”

Conor Laird | GSFN