Spanish → English transcript

I do not know how you can explain what has happened in the locker room in recent days, the clash between Valverde and Chouameny, how you have handled it and whether it is very difficult to prepare such an important match in this atmosphere.

Look, I have to say two things. First, I am very proud of the forcefulness, the speed and the transparency with which the club has acted.

And second, that the players have already expressed their remorse, they have acknowledged their mistake, they have accepted the consequences of what they have done and they have apologized to the fans, to the club, to the locker room.

And for me, that is enough. What I am not going to do is burn my players at a public stake, because they do not deserve it, neither of them.

Neither Fede Valverde nor Aurélien Tchouameni, for what they have done for this club for so many years, and I have felt it myself as a fan, for these four months, for what both of them have shown me day after day,

what it means to be a Real Madrid player, their commitment, their effort, their love for this shirt, and I am not going to forget it.

I always give an example and I talk a lot with his son Roberto so that he knows that when I speak about him, I speak from affection and from honor.

For me there is a player who represents and is the paradigm of what a Real Madrid player must be, which is Juanito, and Juanito never made a mistake.

And I believe that we Madridistas are very, very proud, he is the only player we sing to every match, every match, because he understood what Real Madrid is,

because he was not only a player with extraordinary talent, but he always defended this badge, he gave his heart for this badge every match,

and how could I not be allowed to make mistakes, and I would never put myself on his level, but if we love him for something, it is because we feel he was one of our own,

that he also made mistakes like any person can make mistakes, any of us can make mistakes,

but I think Fede Valverde and Aurelien Sameni are two players who represent very well what Real Madrid is, who deserve for us to turn the page,

for us to give them an opportunity to keep fighting for this club, two players who are European champions with Real Madrid,

Not all the players who have been here can say the same, and I am very proud of them, very, very proud of them.

I am also not going to allow all of this to be used to call into question my players’ professionalism,

because a lot of lies are being told, a lot of lies, it is a lie that my players are not professional,

it is a lie that my players have disrespected me even once, any of them, even once, it is absolutely a lie,

just as it is a lie that any of them is not playing because they have problems with me, or because their life does not match what the life of a Real Madrid player should be,

and I am not going to allow that, because it is totally false.

I, first of all, together with my players, am responsible for the fact that surely the season—no, not surely, for sure—

is not living up to what our fans expect from us, in sporting terms, but I have been here four months, four months,

and I am very proud of my players, and above all very grateful for how they have welcomed me in a situation that was not easy at all,

given where we were coming from, because the demands of this club are very high,

and it is clear that sometimes frustration and anger can lead to situations we do not want,

but we have to use that frustration and that anger to play a great match tomorrow.

That is what we have to do, that is what we have to focus on, and that is what we have to put all our energy into.