​Real Madrid’s standing could be placed in jeopardy by fresh claims from a former club nutritionist who has filed a lawsuit after her dismissal, alleging she endured a profoundly hostile working environment during her time at the Bernabéu. In an interview on the Rogue Cast YouTube channel, Itziar Gonzalez gave a troubling account of her two spells with the club, leveling a series of serious accusations.
Gonzalez had been recruited at the request of president Florentino Pérez during a period when the club was grappling with a muscle injury crisis. A respected sports nutritionist, her prior work reportedly included assisting players such as Dani Carvajal, Rodrygo, and Arda Güler. She contends that from the outset she faced resistance from the medical department, describing an atmosphere of isolation and exclusion. “The head of the department wouldn’t speak to me, and they told me the players weren’t allowed to know I existed,” she said, citing Mundo Deportivo.
Despite clear benefits from her expertise—players reportedly suffered fewer muscle injuries—the hostility intensified. “What I kept hearing from the medical department was that nobody wanted to talk to me, that the players supposedly hated me and found me disgusting. Every single day was a battle, and I’d only been there a week,” Gonzalez added.
Her interaction with the players, however, painted a starkly different picture from her experience with staff. “The players were wonderful and respectful. It was the only place where I felt at peace. It felt like a family. I think they felt sorry for me,” she recalled.
Gonzalez described sustained efforts to undermine her work, including players seeking her out away from the staff’s gaze because they were aware of the ongoing sabotage. “The players would meet me in the parking lot because they already knew what was going on. The sabotage was daily and came from every direction,” she said.
Over the course of her tenure, she levelled a series of grave claims about her treatment, including an accusation of theft involving a shipment of supplements during her first week, which she says she disproved. “I fought back and started pulling on every thread. When we got to the source, it was the doctor. I asked for a meeting with Florentino, and he told me to forget about it and let it go,” she asserted.
The allegations escalated into concerns for Gonzalez’s personal safety, with her saying the environment grew so intimidating that she feared for her well-being. “I thought they really could do something to me. They even told me it could become physical. I wasn’t afraid of physical violence as much as I was of the power they had,” she stated.
Her most serious accusation involved an incident she says had been presented as a pivotal turning point for better search engine optimization, though details remain unclear. Gonzalez’s claims underscore a broader dispute within the club, highlighting tensions between staff and medical personnel and raising questions about the treatment of professionals brought in to address a period of muscle-related injuries among the squad.
As the legal proceedings unfold, Real Madrid faces scrutiny over its workplace practices and the atmosphere described by a former employee who insists she was subjected to a hostile environment from the moment she arrived. The case continues to attract attention as more details potentially emerge about what transpired behind the scenes at one of football’s most storied clubs.