Real Madrid News
Vinicius Jr’s entourage on him being targeted by opponents: “Never happens in UCL”
Real Madrid succumbed to a 4-2 defeat against Girona FC at Estadi Montilivi last night, after putting up a largely listless display.
One player who seemed to be up for the fight against the Catalan club was Vinicius Jr, who looked lively on the ball and had a hand in both of Real Madrid’s goals on the night, scoring and assisting one apiece.
While his performance was impressive, what made the headlines was once again the fact that the Real Madrid winger was constantly targeted and fouled by opposition players during the game.
Arnau Martinez lunged into a harsh challenge on the Brazilian which could very well have caused an injury while Santiago Bueno kicked the ball at the winger when he was down on the pitch.
For the majority of the game, the home team’s fans were chanting: “Vinícius, how bad you are, how bad you are” at the stadium.
This is not the first time such an incident is occurring, as the Real Madrid superstar has constantly been targeted with fouls, rash challenges, and insults by opponents in La Liga.
Speaking to El Confidencial, Vinicius’ entourage touched upon how these incidents only happen in the Spanish top flight but not in European fixtures, saying:
“These insults, kicks, and disrespect only happen in La Liga, especially in away games. Never in Europe, in the Champions League.”
It was not long ago that Vinicius was targeted by racist abuse by fans of Atletico Madrid, Real Valladolid, and RCD Mallorca, while he has had run-ins on the pitch against players from various clubs trying to rattle him by committing fouls.
In fact, the Brazilian international is the player who has been fouled the most number of times across the top-five European leagues this season.
Despite this, Vinicius continues to shine like a star for Real Madrid and is now the player with the most goal-involvements for the club this season. Carlo Ancelotti & co. will need him to keep firing if they are to win teh Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.
Real Madrid News
‘Operation Havertz’ collapses as Real Madrid determine Tottenham striker as ‘urgent’ signing
Jose Felix Diaz of MARCA has provided an update on Real Madrid’s pursuit of Chelsea forward Kai Havertz, claiming that the operation has collapsed completely and the German international will not be joining the Merengues this summer.
Instead, Real Madrid have identified Tottenham Hotspur and England superstar Harry Kane as the top priority and an ‘urgent’ signing for the summer.
With Los Blancos set to bid goodbye to several attackers, they are left with just Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes as senior options in the final third at the moment. So, there will be multiple forwards brought in this summer to make up for the losses.
Havertz was said to be one such player who was well-liked within the club. In fact, reports in Germany stated that the 23-year-old was already on his way to Real Madrid in the summer.
However, that does not appear to be the case as the report from MARCA states that the operation to sign Havertz from Chelsea has already collapsed.
It is claimed that Real Madrid never made any move for the former Bayer Leverkusen ace, while it is also being suggested that he is going through the process of renewing his contract at Stamford Bridge.
While Havertz might no longer be an option on the table, the Merengues are prepared to make a concerted push to sign Kane from Tottenham.
Carlo Ancelotti considers the 29-year-old the ideal replacement for Karim Benzema and wants to sign him up as soon as possible.
However, Real Madrid do not intend to pay over the top for the England striker and will not offer more than €80 million for him. Instead, there may be a possibility that Ferland Mendy could be offered as a makeweight.
Kane’s contract expires next year and with no European football on offer, Tottenham are in a difficult position to keep hold of their ace goalscorer. But negotiations with Daniel Levy are never easy, as Real Madrid learnt in the past in the cases of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale.
So, it remains to be seen if Los Blancos are successful in completing the ‘urgent’ and ‘necessary’ signing of Kane in the coming weeks.
