A former Real Madrid nutritionist has opened up about a culture of harassment at the club that left her traumatized.
In an interview with Spanish sports outlet Marca, Itziar Gonzalez de Arriba detailed her experience working with Los Blancos between 2021 and 2025, when she repeatedly clashed with medical and technical staff who sought to bully her and phase her out.
Gonzalez de Arriba was hired by club president Florentino Perez in 2021 after working with first team stars Dani Carvajal and Rodrygo Goes. She was named nutritionist for the first team, a position that had not previously existed at the club.
But as she explains in the interview, she felt unwelcome as soon as she arrived at the club's facilities in Valdebebas.
“The medical staff created a hostile environment from the very beginning. On my first day, they told me I was there because of the president’s whim, but that they knew how to manipulate him and that he did everything they wanted, and that they were going to manipulate him into thinking I was crazy and sacking me. They didn’t introduce me, greet me, or speak to me. They never met with me, despite my repeated requests; they didn’t answer my emails or messages.”
Kitchen Staff Ignored Recommendations
Gonzalez de Arriba was meant to work closely with the kitchen staff to ensure players were eating a diet crafted to the specific needs of the highest level athletes. But she was instead met with negligence and refusal to consider her professional suggestions.
“They put all sorts of obstacles in my way to do my job: at the buffet, they serve the foods I advise against; the waitress laughs at me and constantly tells the players to ignore me, that I don’t know what I’m talking about; the cook doesn’t serve what I ask for and serves whatever he feels like, like pre-match pastries; the team manager doesn’t buy what I recommend.
"The guy who’s supposed to prepare the supplements serves different ones than the ones I specify; the doctors and physiotherapists tell the players not to follow my instructions, they don’t give me any information about how the players are doing or what they’re being given (medication, vitamins, etc.), even though I insist they don’t, to avoid interactions with the supplements, as it could be harmful to them…”
‘They told me they would humiliate me’
Gonzalez de Arriba was bullied by Real Madrid staff as soon as she stepped into her role, detailing humiliation and sabotage tactics employed by toxic coworkers.
“They only speak to me occasionally when they bump into me in the hallways to tell me I’m doing everything wrong and that the president says I shouldn’t talk to anyone, that I shouldn’t leave this gloomy little room they’ve put me in, that I shouldn’t talk to the players, that I shouldn’t do anything, that people don’t want me there, that the players are disgusted by me.
"The first week they accused me of stealing a whole batch of supplements, and I managed to prove my innocence, but I got scared, and from then on, I always communicated in writing so it wouldn’t happen again.”
After a few false accusations, she was sent home and barred from traveling with the team.
"The doctor and the waitress at the buffet falsely accused me of something to management; I had an alibi and proved it was a false accusation. After that, they made another false accusation, which I again proved was a lie. Faced with this hostile situation, management sent me home and wouldn’t let me travel to a match against Espanyol.”
Gonzalez de Arriba was even prevented from entering Valdebebas as the club inquired about her treatment.
“Management prevented me from entering Valdebebas, supposedly for my own physical safety. They told me they were going to launch an internal investigation and that I shouldn’t worry and should stay calm, that they were going to fire everyone because what they’d done was intolerable.
“I was called to a meeting with a sponsor, who told me he was friends with the doctors, that they’d already gotten the president to fire me, but that they were going to try to humiliate me for the rest of my time there. I worked in constant fear, without rest, and very frustrated because I felt like what I was doing was worthless."
Gonzalez de Arriba Had Support of Perez, Players
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez poses for pictures.
Laureus World Sports Awards - Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid, Spain - April 21, 2025 Real Madrid president Florentino Perez arrives ahead of the awards ceremony REUTERS/Juan Medina
Despite the horrible treatment she endured from colleagues during her time at Real Madrid, Gonzalez de Arriba absolved president Florentino Perez of any wrongdoing.
"The president himself came to tell me what he wanted me to do, which was completely different from the orders I was supposedly receiving ‘on behalf of the president.’ So I do exactly what the president asks: he wants me to implement my method there and take charge of deciding everything from the residence’s buffet to the diet on trips and in hotels, the team’s supplements, and he wants me to create a personalised diet for any players who want it, and that this can also be implemented for the rest of the teams.”
Despite staff contradicting Gonzalez de Arriba's suggestions, players still listened to her advice and often had to follow her guidelines in private, away from the team facilities.
“They constantly laughed at me, make fun of me in the WhatsApp groups, and tell the players to take things different from what I recommend. Despite all these difficulties, most players want to follow the guidelines and many follow them at home due to the impossibility of doing so in Valdebebas.”
Threatened After Filing Legal Complaint
When Gonzalez de Arriba finally decided to leave the club, she filed a legal complaint against the Spanish giants for the hardships and harassment she endured during her handful of years with the team. The legal complaint was met with threats from the club, she admitted to Marca.
“I’m filing a complaint even though they’re ‘advising’ me not to and telling me I have no chance of winning, and that they will ruin my life. I tell them it’s not about winning or losing, I just want the president, the players, and the people I care about to know the truth.”
The nutritionist has gone public with her story, hoping to break the cycle of trauma she lived through, and expose the toxic culture at the heart of arguably the biggest football club in the world.
"Everyone – people on the inside, people who had no idea, family, friends, acquaintances, journalists – told me that Real Madrid has a lot of power and that they were going to twist the information against me, and that they were going to harm me physically and damage my name and reputation. But I still have nightmares every night. I want to close this chapter forever, and I feel that until I tell my story, I won’t be able to.”