Vinicius Junior's petulant reaction to be taken off during Real Madrid's 2-1 win over fierce rivals Barcelona on Sunday reportedly didn't go unnoticed by his colleagues. The Brazilian winger made straight for the dressing room when Xabi Alonso wanted to swap him with Rodrygo, briefly refusing to watch the remaining minutes of the match because he was too angry to sit on the bench.
Vini Jr angers team-mates
According to Barcelona-based , Real Madrid players and executives were not impressed by what happened when Vinicius left the pitch. Venting his fury after being removed with 72 minutes played, Vinicius allegedly pointed out that he has often started and not finished games this season.
"Always me," he is believed to have said, before adding that it would be better for everyone if he wasn't left to stew on his feelings. "I'm leaving the team, it's better if I leave, I'm leaving," the player said, before taking off back inside. Eventually, he returned and was involved in the furious post-match confrontations centred around Barcelona's Lamine Yamal.
Although he eventually returned to the bench for the final stages, and was then involved in the post-match brawl that ensued when Dani Carvajal and Thibaut Courtois both angrily confronted Lamine Yamal, the fact that he left the area at all caused an issue.
In the eyes of his colleagues it was "bad" and "wrong" for that to be his reaction to being substituted. Some club officials are claimed to believe Alonso made the wrong call withdrawing the 2024 Ballon d'Or runner-up when he did, but still cannot abide by what followed and are "very upset" over his reaction. That image is not what the club wants to project. Ultimately, the possibility is raised that Real Madrid are "seriously considering" sanctions.
AdvertisementAFPAlonso plays down Vini Jr's behaviour
Publicly, Alonso has done his best to frame what happened as unproblematic, and born out of a professional desire to be on the pitch at all times.
"The only thing Vinicius was missing was a goal," he told reporters. "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 good.
"Franco [Mastantuono] wanted to carry on playing too. He said to me, 'Are you taking me off?' And I said, 'Yes'. Something similar happened with Vini. He wasn't very happy, but neither was Franco. It happens to everyone, but I'm very happy with Vinicius's performance. The schedule is demanding and we have to keep going."
Incident could mark Vini Jr's Real Madrid future
MD's report adds the possibility that it all points to something much more significant. Vinicius is thought to have verbally agreed a new contract in principle with Real Madrid beyond his current deal that is due to expire in 2027, but it crucially remains unsigned. During negotiations, the player is said to have been asking for more money than the club is willing to offer, standing firm on their overall salary structure.
The plan for Vinicius is to wait and see, even to the point of not ruling out a free transfer in just under two years' time. That isn't something Real Madrid would not be willing to entertain – as it stands, he's valued at a monstrous €150 million (£131m/$175m), per . If it got to the summer of 2026 and still no signature is on the paperwork, Los Blancos would have to put him up for sale to ensure that a fee comes in. Whether being punished for his behaviour in El Clasico would make Vinicius less inclined to sign the proposed contract on the table remains to be seen.
Getty ImagesVini Jr left needing to prove himself
Even though he is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world, Vinicius has reached a point where he needs to prove himself over the next few months. If the Brazilian was a credible contender for the Ballon d'Or off the back of 2023-24, he failed to reach those same standards last season and is still falling short of his previous best in the early weeks of 2025-26. Through 10 La Liga appearances, he has nine combined goals and assists, but they were squeezed into only six games and therefore he is lacking consistency. In the Champions League, meanwhile, he's still waiting for a goal involvement this season.
Alonso has shown his preference for rotation, trying to keep players fresher to win across multiple competitions. But if someone like Rodrygo has been more accepting of that, getting his head down and carrying on even if frustrated on the inside, Vinicius is having a harder time with it.
The worrying thing for the player himself is that Luis Enrique has proven at Paris Saint-Germain that great success can be had by dispensing with big egos and building a squad more focused on the collective than individuals.
