Ex-defender: “Real Madrid must take action with Vini because of his behaviour,”

Ex-Madrid centre-back Rafael Alkorta believes Vinícius Jr, who won the FIFA Men's Best Player award, is not a good role model for children.

Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr. has been in the spotlight for several days. The Brazilian star was crowned Best FIFA Men's Player on Tuesday, but he also found himself at the center of controversy following a 3-3 draw between Rayo Vallecano and Los Blancos on Saturday, in which he taunted Rayo fans over the threat of relegation to the Spanish second division.

Alkorta: “Vinicius' behavior is not appropriate”

In the aftermath of the incident, former defender Rafael Alkorta, who played for Madrid between 1993 and 1997, has expressed his belief that Madrid must curb the Brazilian's behaviour.

“As far as Vinicius is concerned, I think the club will have to take action at some point,” Alkorta said on the Spanish radio program “El Larguero”. “I'm sure everyone has tried everything, especially Carlo Ancelotti, but I think we have to make the child understand that, despite all his talent, he is a role model for many children, and his behavior is not appropriate.”

Other panelists also gave their opinions, with journalist Antonio Romero pointing to the people around Vinícius as part of the problem. 'I've said it before, and the main problem with Vinicius is that he has too many sycophants around him. Some of these sycophants are responsible for managing his social media, because a paragraph could be something Vinícius has read and agreed with. But I assure you he didn't write it,” he explained.

The Best FIFA Award: a consolation prize for Vinícius?

For Jesús Gallego, another expert, the shine has been taken off Vinícius' Best FIFA Men's Player award by Real Madrid's attitude towards the Ballon d'Or, which was won by Manchester City's Rodri.

“If Real Madrid had not made such a fuss by boycotting the Ballon d'Or gala, this award would not seem like a consolation prize for Vinicius, as it looks,” Gallego claimed.

Article originally written in Spanish, translated with the help of AI and edited by Roddy Cons.

Get your game on! Whether you like NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class football goals or MLB home runs, our app has it all.