Vinicius Junior is 26, under contract at Real Madrid until 2032 and sitting out the Clasico next weekend. His own head coach says he would not be at the club at all.
Jose Mourinho, speaking on Saturday ahead of Real Madrid’s LaLiga game at home to Sevilla, gave a striking appraisal of the forward he inherited when he returned to the Spanish capital this summer.
“If I were in his place, I probably wouldn’t be here. Last summer I would have forced my exit to a league, to a country, to clubs and stadiums where they’d respect him,” Mourinho told the press.
“I doubt I’d be able, as a player with lots of options, I doubt whether I’d be able to have his psychological strength, to hold on.”
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Vinicius chose the opposite path. Last summer he signed a renewal that keeps him at Real Madrid until 2032, in a career that has run alongside a long series of racist incidents in opposition stadiums since his arrival from Flamengo in 2018.
The red card that will cost him the Clasico
The context for Mourinho’s intervention is a four-match ban that will keep Vinicius out of the trip to Barcelona on 25 October.
He was sent off against Villarreal for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair as the pair sprinted upfield, a VAR review that also chalked off a goal he had scored moments later. The Spanish federation announced the suspension on Wednesday.
Two matches were imposed for the hair-pull itself and two more for his protests to the referee after the red card. He will miss the home game against Sevilla, the Clasico at Camp Nou, and away trips to Racing Santander and Valencia, according to ESPN.
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Mourinho glad the ban was not longer
The coach made clear he had been bracing for worse.
“I’m happy because they were going to give him more. I thought those lurking in the shadows would give him another game or two,” Mourinho said.
Barcelona host Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday 25 October.
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