The former Real Madrid nutritionist Itziar Gonzalez de Arriba has come forward about the abuse he received while at the club. He started working with the club in the 2021-22 season, and last summer he left the club after a few seasons where he clashed not only with the club’s medical staff, but also those in charge of the club’s equipment and those working at the Valdebebas training ground.
Gonzalez de Arriba explains that he started working individually with Dani Carvajal and Rodrygo Goes. Following good results, he is praised by the team, and President Florentino Perez decided to hire him as a nutritionist in the first team, a position that did not exist before. However, in an in-depth interview with Marca, Gonzalez de Arriba explained that things did not go well from day one.
“The medical staff created a hostile environment from the beginning. On my first day, they told me that I was there because of the president’s request, but that they knew how to deceive him and that he did everything they wanted, and they would deceive him into thinking that I was crazy and they fired me. They did not introduce me, greet me, or talk to me despite my request, they did not meet me or my email.”
“They just talk to me from time to time when I bump into them in the corridors and tell me that I’m doing everything wrong and that the president says not to talk to anyone, not to leave this small room they put me in, not to talk to the players, not to do anything, people don’t want me there, that the players were just fired by me for a week. supplements, and I was able to prove my innocence, but I got scared, and from that time on, I always talked about writing so that it wouldn’t happen again.”
Gonzalez de Arriba’s conflict with Real Madrid staff
Despite encouragement from Perez several times, Gonzalez de Arriba explains how he was met with roadblocks every time. During the interview, he explains his respect for Perez, and absolves him of any blame.
“The president came and told me what he wanted me to do, which was completely different from the rules I was supposed to get from ‘the name of the president.’ So I did exactly what the president asked: he wants me to use my way there and take charge of deciding everything from the accommodation buffet to food on trips and hotels, team supplements, and he wants me to make personal meals for any players they want, and that this can be done for other teams as well. “
“They put all kinds of obstacles in my way of doing my job: at the buffet, they give me food that I’m against; the waiter laughs at me and always tells the players to ignore me, that I don’t know what I’m talking about; the cook doesn’t give me what I ask for and gives whatever he likes, like pre-match cakes; what the team managers recommend to buy for the boy to buy cooked food; different from what I specify; doctors and physiotherapists they tell the players not to follow my instructions, they don’t give me any information about how the players are doing or what they are given (medicines, vitamins, etc.), although I insist that they don’t, to avoid interacting with supplements, because it can be dangerous for them…”
“They always laugh at me, make fun of me in WhatsApp groups, telling the players to take things differently from what I recommend. Despite all these difficulties, many players want to follow the instructions and many follow them at home because they cannot do that in Valdebebas.
False accusations
While at Real Madrid, Gonzalez de Arriba was also falsely accused many times, although he did not specify what.
“Normally, there are very good comments in the dressing room, and the medical staff cannot tolerate that. The doctor and the buffet waiter falsely accused me of something to the management; I have an alibi and I proved that it was a false case. After that, they made another false accusation, which I proved to be false again. When I faced this hostile situation, the management would not let me send me home and let the management send me home.”
‘They told me they would embarrass me’
In the second half of last season, Gonzalez de Arriba revealed that he was banned from the team’s facilities, and promised an internal investigation into his treatment.
“I was called to a meeting with a sponsor who told me that he is a friend of the doctor, and he said that they have got the president to fire me, but they will try to embarrass me for the rest of my time there.
“The management prevented me from entering Valdebebas, they said they were doing it for my safety. They told me that they will do an internal investigation and I shouldn’t worry and I should calm down, they will fire everyone because what they did was intolerable. I asked to leave again, they refused. They told me to continue doing my job from home. I told them that I cannot direct the players without knowing how to do something, and I will do something, and I will do that. They said I was obliged to I did it.”
Gonzalez de Arriba continued to be employed by Real Madrid in the same way, until last August.
“I worked in fear, without rest, and very frustrated because I felt that what I was doing was in vain, but I continued to do it every day without rest until the 4th of August.
Gonzalez’s sacking – ‘I was warned they were going to hurt me’
When he was fired from the team, Gonzalez de Arriba explained that he was threatened when he revealed that he would file a legal complaint.
“The director of Human Resources called me thanking me for my work and told me that they could not bring in doctors and that the Nutrition Service is being withdrawn. They told me that I did an excellent job, I did everything correctly, and that they would pay me the rest of my contract. I told him that I want the president and the players to know the truth, and to politely withdraw all the lies they told me at the club, which I said would not happen.”
“I am filing a complaint even though they were ‘advising’ me and they told me that I have no chance of winning, and they will ruin my life, I told them that it is not about winning or losing, I want the president, the players and the people I care about know the truth.”
When asked why he chooses to go public with his experience now, Gonzalez de Arriba revealed that he hopes to break the cycle of trauma he experienced as a result.
“Because everyone – insiders, people without information, family, friends, acquaintances, journalists – told me that Real Madrid has a lot of power and that they will twist the information against me, and that they will hurt 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 I can tell it until I win.”
Real Madrid is yet to comment on the incidents described above, while Gonzalez de Arriba’s legal complaint of abuse is in the legal process.