Former Real Madrid chief tells Vinicius Jr to rein it in and claims weekend outburst was ‘not healthy’
Vinicius Jr cut a frustrated figure after being hauled off on Saturday
Former Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano has told Vinicius Jr to keep his emotions in check and said his attitude after being substituted at the weekend was “not healthy”.
The Brazil international was visibly angry after being taken off with 13 minutes to go in the 2-0 win over Espanyol on Saturday, having been recalled to the starting XI by coach Xabi Alonso.
Vinicius has struggled for form over the past few months and Valdano, who also played and coached Madrid as well as helping Argentina win the 1986 World Cup, feels he needs to focus on regaining the level he showed regularly under Alonso’s predecessor Carlo Ancelotti.
He told Movistar+: “Vinicius is not the same as he was and the coach is not the same as he was. He will have to improve his level and then convince the coach.
“These attitudes displayed in public are not healthy. They are not healthy in any case.”
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‘Vinicius should be paying back Real Madrid for their support’
Vinicius Jr was supported by Madrid after missing out on the Ballon d’Or last season, with no-one from the club attending the ceremony in a show of solidarity, while the club have rightly been quick to back him following repeated incidents of racism towards the South American.
And Valdano feels the player should now show some appreciation rather than displaying petulance at Alonso’s decisions.
He added: “Vinicius is a man who has been very supported by Real Madrid. He has fought against the world. The people, and even the club, between the world and Vinicius, preferred Vinicius.
“But here we are starting to enter another issue. Vinicius is no longer angry with the world, he is angry with his own coach, and the people at Real Madrid have always put the club before the player.
“He should be a little more careful, because there is also implicit in this type of gestures a lack of respect for the player who is going to enter the field.”
Alonso calm after substitution row
Asked about Vinicius following the game, Alonso played the incident down but admitted both he and teenage midfielder Franco Mastantuono were unhappy at having to come off.
“The only thing Vinicius was missing was a goal,” Alonso said.
“It’s true that he came off the pitch when he was feeling best and I could have waited a bit to replace him, but I understood that we needed fresh players to maintain control.
“Vinicius wanted to stay on because he was feeling well. Mastantuono too, for example. Angry? He wasn’t very happy, but neither was Franco. It happens to everyone, but I’m very happy with Vinicius’ performance. The schedule is demanding and we have to keep going.”