RFEF Believes Friction Between Barça and Real Madrid Players Won’t Harm National Team Atmosphere

The aftermath of last Sunday’s El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium lingers. The most talked-about moment was Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal’s “you talk too much” gesture toward Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal—a conflict that could threaten national team interests, as Luis de la Fuente’s coaching staff, fully preparing for next summer’s World Cup, closely monitors developments.

However, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) told Camel Live that it believes friction between Barça and Real Madrid players will not harm national team unity. The federation specifically emphasized Carvajal’s exemplary role as a captain, while praising Yamal for maintaining always appropriate conduct with the senior national team. The young Barça player remains in high spirits with La Roja, and his performance has satisfied the coaching staff.

De la Fuente has always maintained that both are outstanding professionals and kind young men, and the team—aiming to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup USA-Canada-Mexico—needs such core players. On-pitch incidents usually stay on the pitch and will not spill over into the national team atmosphere. The remaining question is whether Aitor Karanka, a senior RFEF official, will call both parties to mediate, ensuring the incident does not affect preparations for next year’s World Cup.

The next international break will open in mid-November, when Spain will try to secure top spot in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group in advance. Their first match is against Georgia at 18:00 on November 15, followed by a game against Turkey at 20:45 on November 18.

In de la Fuente’s latest squad, Carvajal was absent due to injury, with his spot filled by Pedro Porro and Marcos Llorente; Yamal was initially selected but ultimately withdrew from the training camp due to pubic bone inflammation—the same injury that forced him to miss Barcelona’s away La Liga match against Sevilla.