Alaves defender Abdel Abqar was substituted at half-time of his side’s clash with Real Madrid after he was seen swapping shirts with Kylian Mbappé.
Real Madrid took an immediate lead in the midweek La Liga clash through Lucas Vazquez before Mbappé made it 2-0 after 40 minutes. As the team left the field at the break, Abqar was seen taking the French striker’s jersey.
It was reported that the 25-year-old’s actions clearly did not please coach Luis Garcia as he was replaced by Jon Guridi for the second half. Yet it took Rodrygo just three minutes to put Real Madrid 3-0 ahead, although Alaves hit back with two late goals to make the match end 3-2.
“A tactical thing”
The Alavés boss then denied that the central defender’s gesture was behind the decision to take him out, saying: “I don’t know what he did. I wanted to change something because I wanted to work on something, a little tactical thing.
Real Madrid are still undefeated in La Liga but are trailing FC Barcelona at the top of the table. The Merengue will be in action again on Sunday against Atlético Madrid.
