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New Delhi: France and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe has been ruled out of La Liga’s El Clásico against Barcelona, which will be played at the Camp Nou on Sunday, May 10. The news comes as a massive setback for Los Blancos, amidst a dressing room dispute between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni last week.

Barcelona are leading the La Liga title race and are 11 points ahead of arch-rival Real Madrid, and can secure its second consecutive trophy with a win or a draw on Sunday. Mbappe, who is the league’s leading goal scorer with 24, was not included in the Los Blancos squad after failing to recover from a left-hamstring ailment that has kept him out since late April.

The forward last week insisted that he was fully committed to the club and to recovering from his latest injury. Some club fans have criticised the French international, saying that he was saving himself for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026.

Real Madrid are facing a second season in a row without a major trophy amid rumours in the Spanish media that the club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.

The Los Blancos were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich, and were eliminated from the Copa del Rey round of 16 by Albacete. Last week, Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were each penalised 500,000 euros ($589,000) for an altercation during practice. After the incident, Valverde was sidelined with a head injury after allegedly accidentally knocking his head on a table.

Real Madrid said in a statement that both players have expressed their deep regret for their actions, and apologised to each other, the club, their teammates, the coaching staff and fans.

“Both have made themselves available to Real Madrid to accept whatever sanction the club deems appropriate. Given these circumstances, Real Madrid has decided to impose a financial penalty of five hundred thousand euros on each player, thus concluding the corresponding internal procedures,” Real Madrid said in a statement.

Goalkeepers: Courtouis, Lunin, and Sergio Mestre.

Defenders: Alaba, Trent, Asencio, Á. Carreras, Fran García, Rüdiger, Huijsen and David Jiménez.

Midfielders: Bellingham, Camavinga, Tchouameni, Thiago, Cestero, and Palacios.

Forwards: Vini Jr., Gonzalo, Brahim, and Mastantuono.