During an interview with Movistar, Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. addressed a provocative banner that Manchester City fans unfurled during the two teams’ Champions League playoffs first leg meeting and said: “Those things give me more strength.”
A section of supporters in the Etihad brandished a huge banner behind one of the goals that showed their midfielder Rodri winning the Ballon d’Or at runner-up Vinicius’ expense back in December, with an Oasis-reference message that went: “Stop Crying Your Heart Out.”
Vinicius had the last laugh by the time the evening was through, however, and took home the MVP award for his role in a vital 3-2 comeback win where Madrid twice equalized Erling Haaland and stole an advantage through Jude Bellingham’s 92nd minute winner.
Asked if he saw the banner, Vinicius confirmed that he had but insisted, “whenever the opposing fans do things they give me more strength to play a great game and here I have done it”.
“They know our history, everything we do in this competition. It’s the fifth time we’ve come, it’s always very cold, but this time we won and we have to continue this way,” he added.
“I was able to play a great game, we defended very well and it doesn’t matter who scores goals or is the MVP, we are here to do great things for this shirt and put Madrid in the highest place,” Vinicius also said, before joking about Kylian Mbappe’s shined goal.
“The important thing was to win, it doesn’t matter what it is. On the last ball I try to shoot and it went to Jude,” he further noted.
Despite the lead that Madrid takes back to the Bernabeu, Vinicius noted that there is still a lot “left to play in the second leg”.
“We have to defend as we defended today, and have our fans with us to have a magical night,” he stressed.
Suspended quite often as of late for disciplinary issues, Vinicius confessed that he is trying to rectify that side of his game.
“Sometimes it’s complicated, the referees don’t defend the player who receives the kicks … when they kick me the yellow card is for me. But my teammates, the coaches, they try to help me stay focused, I’m not a saint but I want to win in any way,” he explained.
“I don’t know anything either, no one has spoken to me, I have to talk to the president and hopefully I can stay here for a long time, this competition gives us something more and I want to make history,” he concluded