Real Madrid: Alvaro Arbeloa ‘happy’ to replace Jose Mourinho

Arbeloa has also come under fire from France striker Kylian Mbappe after he was left out of the starting line-up for Los Blancos’ 2-0 win over Real Oviedo.

Mbappe missed his side’s previous two matches, including last weekend’s El Clasico which Barcelona won to seal the league title, with a thigh injury and He was booed by his own fans when he came

The World Cup winner has faced scrutiny over his commitment to the club in recent weeks after an online petition to ‘Mbappe out’ attracted millions of signatures.

But Saturday’s incident was thwarted by the manager.

“I just bumped into him, I told him to calm down. I understand that these kinds of things make headlines, but it’s a lot more normal than you think,” Arbeloa said.

“I was a player myself, I know what they can feel in these situations – playing every day, then playing less or not at all.

“I totally understand that Kylian wasn’t happy about not playing Thursday, and I love that.

“I couldn’t understand if he didn’t want to play. My relationship with him is the same as before.”