Tchouameni opened up in an interview about topics such as his beginnings at the club and the incident involving Vinicius, offering his sincere opinion.
Aurelien Tchouameni was not at the Allianz Arena for Real Madrid's elimination against Bayern. He was serving a yellow-card suspension. He watched from outside, like just another fan. This season, however, he has been one of the pillars of the white team. Undisputed. Nothing like that player who not so long ago played under suspicion and heard the whistles of the Bernabeu.
Without a doubt, a pillar in Real Madrid's midfield that, with his presence in the game last Wednesday, things would likely have ended differently for the Spanish team, but just like Camavinga, he was a victim of an overly strict refereeing that, without a doubt, changed the course of the tie.
The midfielder looked back in an interview on the Pivot Podcast. He put words to that moment when the spotlight was on him. "I was made a scapegoat. In the first 10-20 minutes, the stadium whistled every time I touched the ball.
That situation either destroys you, or you think, 'that's how it is, let's see what I can control, and the only thing I can control is my performance.' The pressure at Real Madrid is different. People are going to talk about everything you do, good or bad."
Tchouameni quickly understood the ground he was on. He adjusted his head before his legs. "Everyone was talking about me, about my way of playing. One or two years ago, I was a bad player; they booed me in the stadium, so I felt that I had been through a lot, and it definitely helped me mentally.
Now I know that no matter what I do, people are going to talk, so I just don't pay attention to it. Playing for Real Madrid is the biggest stage in sports: pressure is a privilege."
The Frenchman also touched on what happened in the Champions League with Vinicius and Prestianni. He did not avoid the topic. He was direct. "They called him a monkey. I feel the next step is to stop playing. We are not going to allow those scenes to happen again." The phrase hangs in the air, unvarnished. Like a clear warning while the stadium noise continues in the background.
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