Vinicius Junior broke down in tears when asked by reporters about racism towards him, and admitted that insults directed at him are killing his motivation to play football.
The Real Madrid and Brazil star was speaking at a press conference ahead of Tuesday night's clash with Spain when he was asked about the ongoing racism he has been forced to endure.
La Liga reported 10 such incidents to prosecutors last season, with the 23-year-old most recently the victim of racial abuse from fans of Real's city rivals Atletico Madrid ahead of the Champions League round of 16 second leg with Inter. Vinicius has been heavily criticized in Spain for openly condemning racism and spoke at the press conference about the emotional toll of all the abuse.
“I just want to play football, but it's hard to move on...I feel less and less motivated to play (b.ed. - because of the racist abuse). It never crossed my mind to leave Spain because if I did I would be giving the racists exactly what they want. I will stay because that way the racists will see me more often. I'm a bold and brave player, I defend the colors of Real Madrid and we win a lot of trophies - not many people like that", said Vinicius, who at times struggled to speak through tears.
The Real forward has been the target of racism on several occasions in Spain in recent years. Following Real's win over Atletico in September 2022, Atleti condemned the "unacceptable" pre-match chants directed at Vinicius by a group of their supporters. Last June, four people were fined €60,001 and given two-year stadium bans after hanging an effigy of Vinicius outside Real Madrid's training ground in January 2023. On the same day, three people were fined €5,000 and given one-year bans for racist gestures during Real's match with Valencia in May.
There have been further incidents of racism directed at the Brazilian this season - in Real's games with Sevilla in October, Barcelona the following week and against Valencia earlier this month. /BGNES
