Real Madrid angered by Tuchel over Bellingham

Real Madrid's management is reportedly extremely displeased with England manager Thomas Tuchel's handling of Jude Bellingham, according to Marca. The 22-year-old midfielder is trying to return to peak condition following a hamstring injury sustained in early February. He made his comeback but played very few minutes as a substitute in the derby against Atletico Madrid two weeks ago. Tuchel decided to include him in the extended 35-man squad for the friendlies against Uruguay (1-1) and Japan (0-1), but Bellingham did not play a single minute. The manager explained that it would have been too great a risk to play the midfielder, who is not in optimal physical condition. The German did, however, stress that he was very pleased with his performance in training. At the Santiago Bernabéu, however, they see no point in Bellingham's trip.

Alvaro Arbeloa is heavily relying on the Englishman for the Champions League quarter-final clashes against Bayern Munich. However, there are only five days until the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu against the German champions. Before that, Real Madrid only has a La Liga match against Mallorca. This leaves Bellingham with insufficient time to get the necessary minutes to approach his best form, which could disrupt the plans of the "Los Blancos" coach. According to the club, it would have been far more beneficial for the player, given he didn't play, to have remained at Real's training ground to continue his recovery there.