October 10, 2026
Atletico Madrid sparked widespread controversy after it mocked its traditional rival, Real Madrid, against the backdrop of the rapid return of Uruguayan player Federico Valverde to the official team roster to face Villarreal, despite suffering a severe injury during the Spanish capital derby.
Real Madrid had previously issued a medical statement announcing that Valverde had suffered a third-degree sprain in his ankle, estimating the period of his absence at between 6 to 12 weeks. However, the player surprised everyone by returning to group training after only less than three weeks, and his name was included in the call-up list for the match.
In light of this development, Atletico Madrid took advantage of this return on social media platforms to send a sarcastic message to its rival, congratulating him on what he described as a “miraculous recovery,” and pointing out that reality had proven the official medical estimates regarding the duration of the player’s absence to be wrong.
This electronic skirmish comes as an extension of the ongoing state of tension between the two capital cities since the last derby confrontation, which ended with Atletico Madrid winning 2-1, and at that time witnessed sharp objections from Real Madrid coach, Jose Mourinho, to many of the arbitration decisions.
