Lluís Companys Stadium. Real Madrid beats Barça in the classic. In the 96th minute Vinícius is substituted. During his walk towards the sideline, the Brazilian begins to celebrate the victory effusively. He raises his arms, sticks out his tongue and heads towards the part of the stands where there are white fans. The rest of the audience begins to whistle. A sector seriously insults him and this is reflected by LaLiga in another complaint (there are already twelve) that it has filed in the last five years for racist attacks against him. Before leaving, the assistant referee urges Vinícius to leave more quickly. The player loses his nerve. "Do not touch me! You're crazy? Do not touch me". Carlo Ancelotti enters the scene. He grabs his arm as soon as he crosses the line and drags him towards the bench. “You're crazy!” Vinícius continued crying out of his mind. This scene, unusual except in hot matches, is Vinícius's daily bread. Because the Brazilian, a top dribbler, is love, he is passion, dribbling and joy, but he is also provocation, arrogance and hatred. Too much hate.
The Real Madrid player has become persona non grata in a large number of Spanish fields in the last two years. There is no match in which he does not cause controversy, whether with the referee, rival players or the fans. Added to his attitude, which is often provocative, are the despicable racist insults against him in many areas, which help the footballer lose his temper more often. This dynamic, which he had in a duel against Mallorca a year and a half ago, has ended up distancing the player from the best version of him.
The number of grievances towards him is almost as large as the number of people offended by his behavior. After facing each other in Mallorca and Pamplona, at the Villamarín, San Mamés or the Camp Nou, half a year ago the match that Madrid played at Mestalla was a turning point. Vinícius suffered serious racist insults and ended up expelled for attacking a rival. In an attempt to defend him, Ancelotti claimed that the entire stadium had called him a “monkey.” Days later he had to rectify and apologize. Valencia acted quickly and located and expelled the racist fans for life, but the damage had already been done. From there, Vinícius became a kind of icon thanks to a complaint that went around the world. Brazil even turned off the lights of Christ the Redeemer to show solidarity with him.
Half a year later, the Valencia chapter has not been closed. The player, in his statement before the judge, once again pointed out that it had been the entire stadium that had called him “monkey.” Valencia, once again, was forced to ask for a public rectification from the Brazilian.
This is how it came to be last Monday, when at the Ballon d'Or gala organized by France Football, Vinícius was awarded the Socrates award, a recognition of his commitment to building a more just and inclusive society. An award that comes to him for his humanitarian work with the Institute that bears his name.
All the animosity that Vinícius generates and receives from rivals is inversely proportional to the veneration they profess for him in Madrid. The white team has elevated the Brazilian to the point of making him the flagship of their project together with Jude Bellingham. A few days ago they renewed their contract until 2027 despite the fact that they are very aware that they have a genius on their hands who is also a problem.
In fact, not infrequently Carlo Ancelotti has said in public that the player should focus more on the game and forget about everything else. Several teammates have also told him this, especially the veterans Kroos and Modric. But the player's attitude does not change and the environment continues to victimize him and show him as a role model.
