Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said on Saturday that if he were winger Vinicius Junior, he would have left the club this summer. His comments came after the Brazilian was sent off during Madrid’s win over Villarreal last weekend for hair pulling. He was banned for four matches, which rules him out of the Clasico against Barcelona on October 25.
Vinicius, 26, has also been targeted regularly by opposition fans. The club’s statement on his treatment is not included here, but the source notes he has been racially abused on many occasions since joining Madrid in 2018.
Mourinho praises Vinicius despite ban and abuse
Speaking to reporters, Mourinho described the winger as a “spectacular kid” who was easy to get along with. He praised Vinicius for continuing to live and get through difficult times while still smiling.
Mourinho said that in the winger’s position he would probably not still be at the club. He suggested he would have pushed for a move to a league and country where rival clubs and stadiums show him respect.
Vinicius signed a new contract with Real Madrid until 2032 during the summer. Mourinho said the player had renewed because he loved the club and the city. He added that outside influences could affect Vinicius, because he is human, but that nobody could take away his joy in living, working and playing with his team-mates.
Questions over squad balance and Champions League form
Doubts remain over whether Madrid can field attacking stars Vinicius, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham together without losing balance. Mourinho took Vinicius off during Madrid’s 4-3 Champions League win at Roma on Wednesday. The winger is still struggling to return to the form that helped him win the competition twice under Carlo Ancelotti.
Mourinho said he was happy the ban was four matches. He suggested that some unnamed figures on the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee would have given him one or two more.
Real Madrid’s row with La Liga president Javier Tebas
Madrid face Sevilla on Sunday, aiming not to fall further behind league leaders Barcelona, who visit Real Betis later on Saturday. Hansi Flick’s Barcelona have won every match this season and are six points ahead of fourth-placed Madrid.
Madrid and Mourinho have blamed referees for some of their results, including a 2-1 derby defeat by Atletico Madrid in September. On Friday, the club called for La Liga president Javier Tebas to resign after he compared its efforts to discredit referees with the methods of Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. Tebas later said he was drawing comparisons with “those propaganda techniques”, not with Nazi ideology.
Mourinho declined to go further on the matter. “There are limits and there are limits,” he said. He added that he hoped the dispute could be kept within the club and not spread beyond it, citing the league’s prestige abroad.
