Real Madrid players use brutal nickname to talk about manager Alvaro Arbeloa

Real Madrid players have started using a brutal nickname when talking about manager Alvaro Arbeloa.

Arbeloa was promoted to head coach in January following Xabi Alonso's unexpected departure.

Before that, the former Madrid full-back was in charge of Castilla, the club's reserve team.

His time in the Santiago Bernabeu dugout has been tricky, with the dressing room full of star names divided.

It all came to a head on Thursday when midfielders Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were involved in a physical altercation.

Valverde had to go to the hospital after suffering a cut, which was later diagnosed as cranioencephalic trauma. The brain injury will keep him out of action for up to two weeks.

Since the ugly incident came to light, Madrid's entire culture has been under the spotlight. That includes Arbeloa's standing as head coach, with Spanish radio show Radioestadio Noche making a damning comment about how he's treated his players.

Arbeloa is called a 'cone' by some players on the Los Blancos bench during games, an insult in Spanish football.

It follows reports of six players refusing to speak to the 43-year-old during training.

Valverde and Tchouameni's incident isn't isolated, either. Antonio Rudiger allegedly slapped Alvaro Carreras, although the latter released a statement on Instagram to downplay the severity of it.

Origin of Arbeloa's 'cone' nickname

You're all probably wondering how Madrid players came up with calling Arbeloa a 'cone'. Well, it stems back to his playing days.

Arbeloa's seven-year stint with Madrid saw him win one La Liga and two Champions League titles, despite not being a superstar name.

His reliability at the back and reluctance to attack irritated some of the Madrid faithful, who are famously some of the most demanding supporters in world football.

It saw many inside the Santiago Bernabeu create the 'cone' moniker, as Arbeloa was deemed 'predictable' and 'easy to spot' by the opposition.

Some would even throw toy cones onto the pitch when Arbeloa was playing. He eventually took it in his stride, with the rise of social media seeing images of him photoshopped onto a cone become a regular occurrence.