Vinicius breaks down in tears as he discusses racist abuse in Spain

Vinicius Junior broke down in tears as he told reporters the ongoing racist abuse he suffers in Spain is making him feel less motivated to play football.

The Real Madrid and Brazil star was speaking at a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s international friendly against Spain when he was asked about the persistent racism he has to endure.

Last season there were 10 such incidents reported to prosecutors by LaLiga, with the 23-year-old most recently the subject of racist chanting by Atletico Madrid fans before a Champions League game against Inter Milan.

Vinicius
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Vinicius broke down in tears when asked about the racist abuse he faced in Spain

Vinicius has faced widespread criticism in Spain for standing up against racism and on Monday he revealed the emotional toll this has taken on him.

“I just want to play football but it’s hard to move forward… I feel less and less like playing (due to the racist abuse),” Vinicius said, at times struggling to speak through tears.

“It never crossed my mind (to leave Spain) because if I leave Spain I give the racists exactly what they want.

“I will stay because that way the racists can continue to see my face more and more. I’m a bold player, I play for Real Madrid and we win a lot of titles and that doesn’t sit well with a lot of people.”

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Brazil will face Spain at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday as part of an anti-racism campaign under the slogan ‘One skin’.

Real filed a complaint with the Spanish legal authorities earlier this month, alleging that Atletico Madrid and Barcelona fans subjected Vinicius to “racist and hateful insults”.

Vinicius has suffered racial abuse on several occasions across Spain in recent years.

After Real’s win away over local rivals Atletico in September 2022, Atletico condemned “unacceptable” chants by a “minority” of fans towards Vinicius Jr outside their stadium before the game.

Last June, four men were fined €60,001 and given a two-year stadium ban for hanging an effigy of Vinicius near Real’s training ground in January 2023.

On the same day, three other people were fined €5,000 and banned for a year for making racist gestures during Real’s game at Valencia in May.

This season there were reports of more racist abuse towards Vinicius Jr as Real played at Sevilla in October, at Barcelona the following week and at Valencia earlier this month.

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How Benitez’s Valencia toppled Real Madrid’s Galacticos

Had there ever been a collection of individual superstars like those assembled by Real Madrid in 2003? When David Beckham arrived from Manchester United that summer, he joined Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Raul.

All six players had featured among the top two in the voting for the Ballon d’Or in the previous four years. For context, there is currently no club in the world that can claim to employ more than one player to have achieved that in the last four years.

The so-called Galacticos had been unable to defend their Champions League crown in the 2002/03 season, despite a famous Ronaldo-inspired win over Manchester United in the quarter-final. But they did win La Liga and were expected to do so again.

Real Madrid's David Beckham, center, arrives at a news conference after a training session at the Hongta Sport complex in Kunming, southern China, Wednesday, July 30, 2003. Real Madrid is in China as part of an exhibition soccer tour including Japan and Hong Kong.
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David Beckham in front of a crowd of reporters in China on tour with Real Madrid

What would unfold was Madrid’s first trophyless season since 1995/96. That ignominious campaign brought no European football for the first time in a generation amid turmoil off the pitch. This was more shocking in its own way. It was thought impossible.

And yet, club president Florentino Perez saw his plans unravel. Two thirds of the way into the season, the team were top of La Liga and expecting glory in Europe but endured a collapse that left his policy under scrutiny and the Galacticos a byword for excess.

As Madrid faltered, Valencia fired.

It was they who reclaimed the title under Rafa Benitez and won the UEFA Cup to go with it. They were a brilliant team but did not boast even a single Ballon d’Or podium-maker. For Benitez, the devil was in the detail. For Valencia, the strength was in their unity.

Xisco Munoz made his Valencia debut that season, appearing 33 times in all competitions. “Until then, I had only played for myself,” he tells Sky Sports. “Maybe not myself but my own characteristics. Rafa started giving me different ideas about the game.”

He explains: “Real Madrid had the top players in the world. We only had one way to beat them. More teamwork, more power, more concentration, more fight. We had to have better values. That is something that Rafa taught us on and off the pitch.”

That Valencia team responded with one of the great European seasons. “I feel everybody had it in their blood. We had that winning mentality. You can lose games. That is one thing. But when you have it in the blood to win, win, and win again, anything is possible.”

Amid the hoopla surrounding Beckham’s signature, Real Madrid lost some of their winners that summer. The departure of long-time leader Fernando Hierro was understandable given his age but Steve McManaman, Fernando Morientes and Claude Makelele left too.

The quartet had made a combined 131 appearances in the previous season – a lot of minutes that needed to be replaced. Beckham was wedged in as a central midfielder but despite his qualities he was no like-for-like replacement for the pivotal Makelele.

Zidane’s famous quip asking why anyone would put another layer of gold paint on a Bentley while losing the engine would come to sum up this entire era. But his words came against the backdrop of a money-spinning tour of Asia with Beckham-mania at its peak.

Players of Real Madrid run past a group of fans behind a fence during a training session at Hongta Sports Center Tuesday July 29, 2003 in Kunming, southwest China. The players of Real Madrid including Beckham continue training sessions through July 31 as part of their Asia Tour.
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Real Madrid run past a group of fans in southern China on their pre-season tour in 2003

There were exhibition matches in Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok, giddy excitement that these Real Madrid players now transcended football. The man expected to fashion them into a team was Carlos Queiroz, brought in from Manchester United.

The power dynamic was an unusual one.

For Jose Peseiro, the newly-appointed assistant to Queiroz, it was an experience just to be in the room with these players. “I had been a player in the second division,” Peseiro tells Sky Sports. “I had never before shared a dressing room with such big players.”

Peseiro insists that it was not as awkward as he had feared. “It was a fantastic experience for me to get to understand them. People think it is not easy to train Beckham, Figo, Ronaldo and Zidane. But it is not difficult because they are smart guys,” he says.

“Of course, they do not do the same things that you would expect from a smaller team. At a smaller team, the players eat together more, speak more, connect more, it is like a family. There, no. They live more of an individual lifestyle, they do not share so much.

“Different egos, different personalities, a coach must manage it well. But in the games, they always did the maximum. I do not say it is easy to command this kind of team but I will not say it is hard because they want to play, they want to enjoy the game.”

Benitez saw the team ethos very differently.

“When we had the meetings with him, he was always so clear about it,” recalls Xisco. This was a coach who recognised the importance of sacrifice. “I know your strengths are attacking but maybe the team needs you to give me the things you do not like.”

Valencia had quality players. Benitez turned them into players who gave everything for the team. “Sometimes it is perfect if you are attacking and the game is the way you like it,” adds Xisco. “But if you have balance and are willing to defend too, that is the best way.”

At the end of February, it did not look likely to be enough. Madrid had powered past Celta Vigo with goals from Ronaldo, Zidane and Figo. Valencia were beaten by Espanyol. It left them eight points behind the Galacticos with a dozen games left to play.

David Beckham, Luis Figo, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane celebrate during their time at Real Madrid
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David Beckham, Luis Figo, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane celebrate at Real Madrid

With both clubs still in their respective European competitions, it was all set for the defining stage of the season – and this was where the big-game players of Madrid were expected to step up. But there was a problem. Injuries and fatigue were taking their toll.

“The project was in the mind of Florentino Perez, this idea of ‘Zidanes y Pavons’,” explains Peseiro. The superstar signings would be balanced out by trusting in the young talent from the club’s famed academy, with Francisco Pavon as the poster boy for the policy.

Having baulked at paying Makelele more money, Perez’s plan hinged on these young players filling out the squad for a fraction of the cost. But Pavon and Raul Bravo struggled in defence, while young forward Javier Portillo scored only twice in 30 appearances.

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Jude Bellingham explains why Zinedine Zidane has always been the benchmark for him

“At that moment, we had 11 good players and then the others,” says Peseiro. “Makelele, Morientes, McManaman, they had been very good. The problem was that when we needed to put players from the bench, from the academy, into the team, it was not so good.”

Humiliatingly for Perez, it was Morientes, loaned out to Monaco, who ended their European ambitions that season, scoring home and away against Madrid to knock them out of the Champions League. He would go on to finish as the competition’s top scorer.

Broken by that defeat to Monaco, the team would lose 3-0 at home to Osasuna next time out in La Liga. Still top at that stage, Madrid, astonishingly, would go on to lose their final five matches of the season, eventually finishing fourth in the table. A collapse.

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Former Real Madrid player Zinedine Zidane discusses his passion for Formula One

All sorts of criticism came, Queiroz paying with his job and attitudes being questioned. Twenty years on, it seems fairer to point out that the physical demands may have been too taxing. Zidane and Figo were the wrong side of 30 but could never be left out.

“Many times they played fantastic football,” says Peseiro “Everyone enjoyed it. Even me on the bench. But there came a time when some players needed a rest and the second option for those positions was not so good. We just could not keep the same level.”

When the going got tough, Valencia got going. Ten games unbeaten, eight won, were enough to secure the title with two games to spare. They lost their last two games of the La Liga season but only because attention shifted to Europe. They won the UEFA Cup.

Francisco Rufete of Valencia celebrates with the trophy after the UEFA Cup Final match between Valencia and Olympique de Marseille at the Ullevi Stadium on May 19, 2004 in Gothenberg, Sweden.
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Valencia celebrate with the trophy after winning the UEFA Cup final in 2004

Vicente and Mista scored the goals that beat Marseille in Gothenburg, having been the team’s top scorers in La Liga too. The names were not as stellar as those of Madrid but it was a squad packed with Valencia legends. “Excellent players,” says Xisco.

“We had Pablo Aimar, Santi Canizares…big players. But they were big players because every day in training they had the ability to concentrate, to be ready every day, to give 100 per cent in every session. That pushes you to give 100 per cent too.”

It is a parable for the importance of the team.

“Talent is always good, always very nice,” concludes Xisco. “But I learned in those years that nobody in life is going to give you anything for free. I became addicted to hard work. Because the lesson is that you have to work hard for what you want.”

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Bayern, Liverpool and Real Madrid ‘working on Alonso deal’, says Hoeness

Bayern Munich’s honorary president Uli Hoeness has claimed his club, Liverpool and Real Madrid are all “working” on a deal to appoint Xabi Alonso as their next manager.

Earlier this month, Sky in Germany reported Bayern had opened discussions with Bayer Leverkusen head coach Alonso about replacing Thomas Tuchel in the summer.

The ex-Liverpool midfielder is also reportedly of interest to the Reds as they search for Jurgen Klopp’s successor at the end of the season.

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Sky Sports News senior reporter Melissa Reddy has the latest news on the potential destination of Xabi Alonso

Liverpool’s new sporting director Richard Hughes, who will start his role at the end of the season and is Michael Edwards’ first appointment since being named Fenway Sports Group’s CEO of Football, knows the agent of Alonso having brought another of his clients, Andoni Iraola, to Bournemouth last summer.

Alonso has also been linked with a move to his former club Real Madrid, although the LaLiga side’s boss Carlo Ancelotti extended his contract with the the club in December until the summer of 2026.

But Ex-Bayern Munich president Hoeness claims the Spanish giants are interested in Alonso, along with Bayern and Liverpool.

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Jamie Carragher analyses Bayer Leverkusen’s style of football under Xabi Alonso, and predicts how Liverpool would play if he was to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield

“He’s [Alonso’s] proven that he can be a coach for the big time,” Hoeness told German news outlet Ran Sport.

“Clubs like Liverpool, Real Madrid, Leverkusen and FC Bayern are working on it.”

Sky in Germany claim Alonso is Bayern’s preferred candidate and they are understood to have received a positive signal from him during initial talks.

The Spaniard would cost Bayern between £12.8m-£21.3m (€15m-€25m) this summer as a fixed exit clause in his contract of around £12.8m (€15m) does not kick in until the summer of 2025.

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Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso reflects on his story so far as he discusses following in his father’s footsteps, coaching idols and what drew him to the Bundesliga side

Hoeness said on Bayern’s managerial search: “There are hardly any coaches who come into question who are currently free, who don’t have a job or who are on sabbatical.

“It’s not so easy to tell them that FC Bayern is the measure of all things.”

The heavyweight interest in Alonso comes with his Bayer Leverkusen side unbeaten in all competitions this season, having failed to win just five of their 38 games.

Alonso has guided Leverkusen to the top of the Bundesliga as they sit 10 points clear of Bayern Munich, putting them on the verge of their first German top-flight title.

Should Alonso choose Bayern or Liverpool?

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A look at how Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen set up as the talented coach gets touted to be Jurgen Klopp’s replacement at Liverpool

Sky Sports News’ Melissa Reddy has analysed Alonso’s situation after speaking to multiple sources in England and Germany.

The case for Bayern Munich…

Winning is easier at Bayern, but losing leaves you in a critical condition – Julian Nagelsmann had overseen defeat in just three games across all competitions last season before he was sacked.

Tuchel, exiting in May, has been fortunate to last this long in contrast. Borussia Dortmund lost the title last season more than Bayern won it.

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Xabi Alonso insists his focus is solely on winning games with Bayer Leverkusen amid speculation he could join either Bayern Munich or Liverpool in the summer

The German giants are so conditioned to success and regularly extracting the best gifts from their domestic threats, it prompts periods of complacency, but also a divorce from reality. Bayern believe they should be winning the Champions League. Failure in that competition is fatal for managers.

Since Klopp took charge at Liverpool, seven different faces have been at Bayern’s helm. There has been chaos at board level, perfectly summarised by previous bosses Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic sacking Nagelsmann in March 2023, only to be relieved of their own duties two months later.

Alonso will be tuned in to how often the manager’s decisions are berated at Bayern. Tuchel recently complained that the media draw battle lines by favouring members of the squad and bristling when they do not start.

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Sky in Germany reporter Felix Fischer outlines why Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso is held in such high regard

Tuchel has accepted responsibility for poor performances and results, but reminded he is not the only problem at Bayern; a broadside at both the squad and the hierarchy.

It has been evident over recent years that Bayern insist on a coach with a clear philosophy without ensuring the team meshes with that identity.

The spine needs to be rebuilt and the average age of the group reduced. Perhaps the sales pitch is Alonso can construct a side in his image – but does recent history support that?

The case for Liverpool…

The wholesome scenes at Wembley, where the club’s academy kids showed the bravery to burst Chelsea’s billion-pound bubble in the Carabao Cup final, will have emphasised what great health Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool in.

The first-team squad, in the mix for three more trophies this season despite a ridiculously long injury list, requires supplements and enhancements rather than any serious surgery.

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Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp hailed potential successor Xabi Alonso as a ‘standout’ manager after his incredible season so far with Bayer Leverkusen

The direction of travel is clear at Anfield. Alonso wouldn’t just be inheriting one of the strongest squads in Europe, but a special bond between the players and supporters that was neatly showcased in the galvanising rendition of Allez, Allez, Allez during extra-time in that Carabao Cup final victory.

The house, harmony, and hope that Klopp has built is formidable and will endure under the right circumstances. Alonso need not fear mimicking the German as Liverpool do not want a JK 2.0 or a lite version of him.

That does not alter the fact that it is daunting to succeed a man, who more than winning the lot, made people feel and believe through unforgettable shared experiences.

Questions over whether a Liverpool team geared to a more direct style of play is suited to Alonso’s possession-based preference ignores the evidence of his ability to adapt and underestimates the bandwidth of players to absorb new ideas.

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Pep Guardiola praised his former player and now Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso on his success and skills as a manager

His due diligence would also point to patience, empowerment, and non-interference from owners Fenway Sports Group.

Alonso knows the scale of competitors will be much higher at Liverpool, who cannot offer state-powered tools. He will need to help find the edges, to work within the club’s means.

It will be harder to win, but for someone who outperformed his resources at both Real Sociedad B and Leverkusen, perhaps he will feel it is more rewarding.

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