Vinicius Junior’s preferred option would be to move to the Premier League if he were to leave Real Madrid with the superstar hinting his future could lie “far away” from Spain after being racially abused for at least the sixth time this season.
It remains unlikely that the 22-year-old, currently one of the world’s leading players, would leave Madrid but it is believed he admires the Premier League and would choose England ahead of elsewhere.
Real Madrid’s match against Valencia on Sunday was paused while Vinicius reported racist abuse from the stands at their opponents’ Mestalla stadium.
When no action was taken, the Brazilian ended up getting sent off for an altercation with Valencia player Hugo Duro and afterwards strongly criticised the Spanish league.
“It was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third,” he posted on social media. “Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition considers it normal, the federation considers it normal and the rivals encourage it.
“The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano [Ronaldo] and [Lionel] Messi today belongs to the racists.
“A beautiful nation, which welcomed me and which I love, but which accepted to export to the world the image of a racist country. I am sorry for those Spaniards who disagree but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists.
“I am strong and I will go all the way against the racists. Even if it is far away from here.”
Any suggestion that a player as good as Vinicius, who has told those close to him in the recent past he would be willing to spend his entire career at Real Madrid, will pique the interest of the Premier League’s leading clubs.
Before he signed for the 14-time European champions, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United scouted him playing in Rio De Janeiro for Flamengo.
But he always wanted to play in La Liga and by the age of 16 Real Madrid had sealed the transfer for £38m, allowing him another two years in Brazil to develop.
Chelsea need to sell before they can buy to comply with financial regulations, but the fact Todd Boehly met with Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes last summer suggests they are open to financing a mega transfer.
Liverpool pulled out of competing to sign Jude Bellingham, deciding to focus transfer budgets on several players, effectively ruling them out.
Manchester United are an intriguing option, as are Manchester City, who could lose Bernardo Silva this summer to Barcelona, and even Arsenal with improved spending power after a strong season.
Vinicius’s current contract expires in a year but he is expected to sign fresh terms with Real Madrid for a further three seasons.
And while La Liga president Javier Tebas was widely criticised for starting a social media argument with the player, for their part Real Madrid have strongly supported him, reporting the racism on Sunday to Spanish prosecutors as a hate crime.
Key figures across football shared support for Vinicius in the aftermath.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, who was racially abused in December after scoring a hat-trick in France’s World Cup final defeat to Argentina, wrote: “You are not alone. We are with you and we support you.”
Rio Ferdinand, the former England and Manchester United defender, wrote: “[Vinicius] receives a red card after being choked and receiving racial abuse during the game.
“How many times do we need to see this young man subjected to this s___? I see pain, I see disgust, I see him needing help… and the authorities don’t do s___ to help him.
“People need to stand together and demand more from the authorities that run our game.
“No one deserves this yet you are allowing it. There needs to be a unified approach to this otherwise it will be swept under the carpet AGAIN.”
As well as being the subject of racist chanting before and during games, in January an effigy of Vinicius was hung from a bridge before a Copa del Rey game against Atletico Madrid.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/wGX6lgv
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