MADRID — Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said Saturday if he were winger Vinicius Junior he would have left the club this summer.
The Brazilian was sent off during Madrid’s win over Villarreal last weekend for hair pulling and was banned for four matches, meaning he will miss the Clasico clash against Barcelona on October 25.
Vinicius, 26, has also been targeted regularly by opposition fans and been racially abused on many occasions since joining Madrid in 2018.
“He’s a spectacular kid who it’s easy to have a good relationship with,” Mourinho told reporters.
“He’s a fantastic boy, tremendous credit to him for the fact that he keeps living and surviving and still having a smile…
“If it were me in his place, probably I wouldn’t be here. In this last summer I would have forced an exit to a league, a country, to somewhere there are rival clubs and stadiums that respect him.”
In the summer Vinicius signed a new contract with Real Madrid until 2032.
Question marks remain over whether Madrid can line up with attacking superstars Vinicius, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham together, without losing balance.
“Because he loves Real Madrid, for loving the club and the city, for believing that things can always improve, he renewed and he keeps on smiling,” continued Mourinho.
“No one or nobody can… well, influence him negatively yes, because he’s human… but take away his joy of living and working and being with his team-mates, no, no one can do that,” Mourinho added according to AFP.
Mourinho took Vinicius off during the 4-3 Champions League win at Roma on Wednesday, with the winger still struggling to return to the form that helped him win the competition twice under Carlo Ancelotti.
Mourinho said he was happy that Vinicius’s ban was four matches, saying he thought some hidden figures at the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee “would give him one or two more”.
Madrid face Sevilla on Sunday aiming not to fall further behind league leaders Barcelona, who visit Real Betis later on Saturday.
Hansi Flick’s Barcelona have won every single match this season and are six points ahead of fourth-placed Real Madrid.
Los Blancos and Mourinho have blamed referees for some of their results, including the 2-1 derby defeat by Atletico Madrid in September.
