Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior receives Spanish citizenship
Real Madrid have officially confirmed that Vinicius Junior has finally received his Spanish citizenship earlier this month, on September 2, just a day after the summer transfer window closed.
The 22-year-old Brazilian international has been with the club since 2018 and was occupying one of the three Non-EU spots in the squad as he was not recognised as a Spanish national.
However, the process for obtaining citizenship had been in process for the past few months now and Vinicius has now been granted the same.
“Real Madrid CF announces that our Brazilian player Vinicius Junior swore to the Spanish Constitution last Friday, September 2, so from that moment he also has Spanish nationality,” the club’s official statement said.
This means that one of the three non-EU spots in the Real Madrid first-team roster has been freed up, with Rodrygo Goes and Eder Militao holding the remaining two slots. The process is already underway for the Brazilian duo to obtain their Spanish passports as well.
With Vinicius now receiving his Spanish citizenship, Real Madrid can call Vinicius Tobias to feature in La Liga matches. The Brazilian had not been part of the squad due to his non-EU status but this development frees up the spot for the right-back to feature in the league.
Of course, there will be a hint of disappointment at the timing of Vinicius’ citizenship news. Real Madrid had shown serious interest in Gabriel Jesus this past summer and had tried to sign him from Manchester City.
However, the transfer collapsed as Los Blancos did not have a free non-EU spot in the squad and the striker ended up joining Arsenal instead, where he is already thriving.
Since joining Real Madrid in 2018 from Flamengo, Vinicius has grown into one of the best attacking prospects in the game of football. The 22-year-old has 175 appearances for the club in which he has netted 39 goals and set up 45 more.
Vinicius enjoyed his best campaign in 2021/22 and is aiming to beat his achievements from that season in the current term.
Real Madrid News
Kylian Mbappe fires back at critics over his Real Madrid role: ‘A player who scores goals will never be the problem’
Kylian Mbappe has started the new season for Real Madrid in great form, scoring five goals in five games so far.
The Frenchman has continued from where he left off last season, with seemingly no drop in his scoring rate, and he could have had one more had he not missed his penalty against Real Betis.
The 27-year-old superstar has pushed back against criticism of his contribution to Real Madrid, insisting that his goalscoring should not be treated as a problem.
Mbappe’s logic is that the fundamental objective of football is to outscore the opposition and that, therefore, goalscoring should never be seen as an issue.
As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Mbappe addressed the issue in an interview with L’Equipe, where he spoke openly about criticism of his defensive work and the constant scrutiny associated with him.
Mbappe responds to criticism
The Madrid forward believes people have become so accustomed to his attacking production that attention naturally shifts towards what he does not provide.
“Is it normal that people forget my goals and focus on the defensive work? No, but that is the life of someone who has been close to excellence for 10 years. I am not new to this. Everyone knows what I can do,” Mbappe said.
“It is human to look at what someone does not do. When someone has been doing something for 10 years, we stop looking at it because we know he can do it, so we look at what he is not doing. I do not take it personally.”
Mbappe’s standards are so high that scoring regularly can almost be taken for granted. However, one has to remember how remarkable that consistency is.
‘A player who scores goals will never be a problem’
Mbappe was even firmer when discussing suggestions that his goals may not necessarily translate into collective success.
“It makes no sense. If I do not score goals, they are going to ask me why I am not scoring,” he said.
“As a footballer, I have learned that there are millions of coaches in every match you play, and not all of those coaches are happy. Everyone has an opinion, but in football the objective is to score more goals than the opponent.”
Then came his clearest message.
“A player who scores goals will never be the problem of a team, because no team has ever won titles without scoring goals.”
Madrid need balance, not less of Mbappe
Mbappe’s argument is difficult to dismiss.
Even if they say “attack wins you games, defence wins you tournaments”, you cannot win games unless you score goals, and you cannot win tournaments unless you win games.
Madrid can demand more collective work from every player, especially under Jose Mourinho, without pretending elite goalscoring is somehow secondary.
The real challenge is finding the right balance.
Madrid need Mbappe to remain devastating in front of goal while fitting into the team’s pressing and defensive structure. Those demands are not one or the other.
If anything, Mourinho’s task is to build a system that protects Mbappe’s greatest strength while still making Madrid harder to play against.
Mbappe’s goals are not, and never will be, the problem. The onus is on the manager to bring those strengths out in a system that also preserves the defensive structure.
