Defender Antonio Rudiger attracted attention during a recent Real Madrid training session when he slapped a team staff member, surprising Kylian Mbappe.

During the training as the team prepared to face Espanyol in La Liga, Rudiger engaged in a controversial act by slapping the team’s kit manager, Manolin. In a video from the session, the two appeared to be having a light-hearted conversation before Rudiger unexpectedly struck Manolin’s face. Despite the staff member’s protests, Rudiger delivered another slap, leaving Mbappe, who was watching, visibly astonished.

The tradition of slapping each other to celebrate goals at Real Madrid reportedly began with Rudiger, who introduced the idea to add some humor to goal celebrations. Over time, this has become a regular occurrence, with teammates slapping each other whenever a goal is scored.

Previously, Rudiger had slapped Mbappe on the head after the French forward scored his debut goal against Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup. In retaliation, Mbappe struck Rudiger several times on the back after he scored during Real Madrid’s 3-1 victory over Stuttgart in the Champions League. Vinicius Jr. also joined in on this peculiar ritual with Mbappe. After the match with Stuttgart, Mbappe enthusiastically remarked, “I paid Rudiger back for slapping me.”

Despite being on the receiving end of many slaps, Rudiger took it in stride, saying, “If I score more goals, they can keep slapping me, no worries. But they’ll score too, so I’ll definitely get my revenge.”

Rudiger will have a chance to enact some payback when Real Madrid hosts Espanyol, with the match set to take place at 2:00 AM tomorrow (September 22).