Real Madrid sealed a morale-boosting 3-2 comeback victory over Villarreal on Thursday night in the Copa del Rey, ending a run of three games in which they have failed to win in 90 minutes. The entire squad wasn’t there to soak in the win though.
Along with David Alaba, Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, Aurelien Tchouameni is out injured currently. Luka Modric missed the match too, as he was rested by Carlo Ancelotti.
Presumably they were watching their teammates somewhere or other. However Tchouameni was spotted in Paris. The 22-year-old used his time off to go and attend a NBA game taking place in Paris, between the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls.
Spotted in the stands, Tchouameni drew the ire of Madridistas for missing the match. Afterwards, Tchouameni apologised on his Twitter account for ‘not doing the right thing’.
“I apologise to my club, the coaching staff, my teammates and the Madrid fans for my presence at an event, at a time when we we had a lot at stake in the Cup. I was paying attention at all times to what was happening in Villarreal, but I have not done the right thing. I am very sorry.”
Pido disculpas a mi club, al cuerpo técnico, a mis compañeros y a la afición madridista por mi presencia en un evento a la hora que nos jugábamos mucho en la Copa. He estado atento en todo momento a lo que pasaba en Villarreal, pero no he hecho lo correcto. Lo siento mucho.🤍
— Tchouameni Aurélien (@atchouameni) January 19, 2023
How much difference it would really have made for Tchouameni to be sat at home watching both can be debated by those interested. Certainly in terms of public relations though, the French midfielder probably won’t be making the same mistake again.
How to become impopular with fans 101.
Maybe its not a big deal to some people. But it shows where your priorities lie and while NBA basket may be interesting, neither Bulls nor Pistons are paying him millions in wages.
Hopefully he will learn from his mistake.