Real Madrid player Vinícius Jr. has published a statement on X, apologising to Real Madrid fans about his behaviour during El Clásico last Sunday. Despite Madrid's victory, Vinícius angered Real Madrid fans when he lost his temper when he was substituted after 72 minutes. He left the pitch shouting and gesticulating, showing his disagreement with manager Xabi Alonso's tactical decision.
Since then, rumours have circulated once again about his desire to leave the team, unhappy with his secondary status behind Mbappé, the top goal scorer of the team and arguably the biggest "star" of the team. Some were expecting that the club would sanction Vinícius for his disrespect towards Xabi Alonso, but the club decided to let Alonso and Vinícius to solve their problems privately.
<social>https://x.com/vinijr/status/1983508825849114975</social>
On Wednesday, Vinícius said that he apologised to his teammates during training. "I want to apologize to all the Madridistas for my reaction when I was substituted in the Clásico. Just as I have already done in person during today's training, I also want to apologize again to my teammates, the club, and the president.
"Sometimes passion gets the better of me because I always want to win and help my team. My competitive character stems from the love I feel for this club and everything it represents. I promise to keep fighting every second for the good of Real Madrid, as I have done since the first day".
Time will tell if this translates into a stronger relationship with Xabi Alonso. The successor of Carlo Ancelotti has not hesitated in benching Vinícius, something that barely happened before. His message comes exactly one year after his famous "Eu farei 10x se for preciso. Eles não estão preparados"...