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"So happy for you my brother", says Mbappé after Vinícius was finally named MVP of Real Madrid

Vinícius scored one and assisted two (or three) goals in a 6-1 thrashing in the Champions League.
Javier Escribano Editor Spain 21 January 2026

Real Madrid improved the series of bad results before and after the sacking of Xabi Alonso with a second consecutive win, and a big one, a 6-1 thrashing of Monaco in the Champions League, leaving them temporarily as second of the table behind Arsenal, with a little help from PSG and Manchester City, who also lost in the Tuesday's games.

Mbappé scored a brace, and Vinícius Jr., Jude Bellingham added another, with Thio Kehrer scoring an own goal and Vinícius adding two assists (and another "ghost assist", as he caused Kehrer's own goal), earning him the MVP award, a rare feat for the Brazilian lately, who has been repeatedly whistled at and booed at the Bernabéu.

"So happy for you my brother. All the Madridistas are with you", wrote Kylian Mbappé on Instagram, one of the few players who has not been targeted by angry Real Madrid fans in the last few weeks.

Álvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid's new coach, also praised the winger: "I'm very happy for my players because we need a committed team, and I'm very happy for Vinícius because he deserves the fans' affection and I think that hug he gave me was for all of Real Madrid", said Arbeloa, who embraced with Vinícius after the match. "We need Vinicius to be happy so we can win all the titles".

Editor Spain Javier Escribano wrote for Gamereactor from 2024, covering sport alongside video games and world news. His work appeared on the Spanish and international editions.
Full profile Gamereactor author since 2024 · 5,329 published articles
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