‘They Don’t Want Me, I Won’t Play’

Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. now wants to leave the club and has said “I won’t play where they don’t want me” according to El Periodico and Sport, both citing anonymous sources.

Madrid’s underperforming stars were booed when they came out to warm up against Levante at the Bernabeu on Saturday, following cup defeats to FC Barcelona and Albacete which ended chances of winning two pieces of silverware in a matter of days.

Of all the players, however, it was Vinicius that was jeered the loudest and the longest, with the treatment continuing every time he touched the ball during the 2-0 La Liga win and far less for the likes of Jude Bellingham and Fede Valverde.

In the hours leading up to kick off, COPE reported that Real Madrid was confident of getting Vinicius to extend his contract now that Xabi Alonso has been fired and replaced by Alvaro Arbeloa.

A lot has changed since then, however, with Vinicius reportedly saying that he doesn’t wish to play for Real Madrid anymore if its fans don’t want him to be there.

Sport says that January 17th was the day that the day that Real Madrid and its supporters “broke definitively with Vinicius”, with their relationship at an all-time low.

Real Madrid coach Alonso wants to get the best out of Vinicius

Reacting to the boos, and Vinicius’ treatment, Arbeloa was asked what he would do with Vinicius moving forward.

Arbeloa vowed to “work to improve Vinicius”, revealing that he’s going to “ask his teammates to give him as many balls as possible”, as he’s the world’s best player in terms of unbalancing opposition defences.

At his first press conference ahead of Albacete, Arbeloa also said: “I’m extremely lucky to have one of the best players in the world. And that’s what we want to see, a Vini who enjoys himself and dances. That’s what I want to see.”

As things stand, though, it might not be long that Arbeloa gets to enjoy such a thing if Vinicius can recapture his spark, as he might head elsewhere?

Where could Vinicius go to after Real Madrid?

In past transfer windows, Vinicius has been strongly linked to Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League clubs including Liverpool and Manchester City.

There’s also the temptation to head to Saudi Arabia, whose Pro League clubs have offered to make him an even richer young man with pay to rival the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Until his future is resolved, attention turns to how Vinicius will be received by the Bernabeu when Real Madrid hosts AS Monaco in the Champions League on Tuesday.