Why forgotten man Dani Ceballos has been frozen out by Arbeloa and Real Madrid

A Real Madrid team with no clear objectives tends to get restless. Not self-destructive, almost never that, but like a submarine under pressure at the ocean floor. You can hear the metal groan, feel the strain building, and occasionally a bolt seems ready to fly.

With the Dani Carvajal situation still simmering, Friday brought another crack in the sense of calm. This time, it centers on Dani Ceballos.

Ceballos left out of squad for Betis

Around midday, Real Madrid released its matchday squad to face Betis, and one name was noticeably missing: that of Ceballos. Even if he has rarely featured, he had remained part of the backdrop. This time, his absence was not due to injury. It was a purely technical decision.

The omission stood out even more because Aurélien Tchouaméni dropped out of the squad late, while two academy players, Jorge Cestero and Manuel Ángel, were called up to fill that same area of the pitch. A clear triple signal.

Not just a routine decision

This was not, at least internally at the club, seen as a controversial or “unpopular” call. Ceballos already raised eyebrows last summer when he came close to leaving for Olympique de Marseille. The move was essentially finalized, the transfer nearly complete, only missing the player’s signature before he ultimately backed out.

Leaving him out now carries weight. Not just because of the decision itself, but because of the timing. The match is in Seville against Real Betis, the club he has long been emotionally tied to, even as his relationship with them has been complicated over time. That context adds another layer of friction.

Ceballos’ friction with Real Madrid coaching staff

At the core of the situation is a deteriorating relationship between the player and the coaching staff, driven largely by frustration over playing time. Ceballos has not started a La Liga match since November under Xabi Alonso, and he had been hoping for a role in this match at La Cartuja.

Instead, he was left out entirely.

Similar situations in the past have rarely gone in a player’s favor at Madrid. The comparison often made is Isco under Santiago Solari, another case where the balance of power clearly tilted against the player.

At this stage, Ceballos appears to be holding the weaker hand.

“Did anything happen between you?”

If there was any doubt about the reasoning, coach Álvaro Arbeloa made his position clear when speaking to the media.

“I bring the players I consider appropriate,” he said sharply when asked about Ceballos’ absence.

Pressed again, he did not deviate.

“Did anything happen between you?” a reporter asked.

Same answer, unchanged and firm: “I always bring the players I consider appropriate.”

And in this latest episode, Ceballos is the one left on the outside, while Madrid once again deals with another internal ripple turning into something larger than expected.