Espanyol fans hounded him with whistles throughout the match, and Real Madrid had to grind out a 2-1 win. But the harshest criticism did not come from the stands: it came from a radio studio.
Santiago Cañizares, a former Merengues goalkeeper, set social media ablaze with a sentence: “What he gives you football-wise compared with what he takes away from you. Do you know what happened? The thing is, no one wants him”.
According to him, no club approached to ask about the Brazilian this summer, not even to sound out the situation, and at most a “lesser” team such as Newcastle might have shown interest.
The accusation strikes precisely where it hurts most: Vinícius has just signed his renewal with Real Madrid until June 2032, after a year and a half of negotiations.
For Cañizares, that signing was not a reward for his talent, but the only way out left to the club from Madrid. “No one wants a player like that at their club”, Cañizares concluded.