De la Fuente has made it clear that the relationship between Carvajal and Yamal remains intact. “I've spoken with both of them, and we've talked about other things,and with Dani, mainly about his injury, it couldn't be any other way, that's the first thing, the priority, that he recovers," the Spanish coach said. "With Lamine, we also discussed these issues, and also his injury, obviously. We talked about that too, and it was all perfectly normal. I was sure that if we were both available, there wouldn't be any problem, none at all."
De la Fuente also dismissed claims that Yamal’s earlier comments had disrespected Carvajal or Real Madrid. "Something that is non-negotiable for me is respect. With respect, we can build anything we want, any building, any relationship. We have to be careful with our expressions, with the way we say things, because sometimes they are taken out of context and seem like much more than what was actually said. In any case, we have to be very careful not to offend.
"You can say many things without being disrespectful. It doesn't mean that Lamine said it with the intention of being disrespectful, I'm sure he didn't."
De la Fuente, while defending Yamal’s intentions, admitted that the young winger could have chosen his words more wisely. “Maybe it wasn’t the right time,” he explained. “I repeat, in that context, in that way, at that moment in which he found himself. Well, you might say something believing it’s just a joke, and that joke doesn’t go down well.”
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