Vinicius Junior has struggled to replicate his best form in recent months. He had started the season very strong, after a remarkable 2021/22 campaign, which had ended with him scoring the Champions League-winning goal for Real Madrid against Liverpool. As a result, the hopes were that the Brazilian winger had made the jump from highly-rated wonderkid to a bona fide superstar once and for all. Things have gone south lately though.
While Vinicius’ performances have been decent, he has struggled to make the difference in the final third. This is starting to look like the Vini of the past, who was incredibly inconsistent.
In his first seven La Liga games of the season, he had scored 5 goals. In the next eleven matches, he has found the back of the net once. Of course, there have been good performances as well, like the Copa del Rey games against Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, with him scoring in both.
Of course, Vinicius has not been helped by the constant storm surrounding him on-and-off the pitch. It is worth remembering that he is still just 22 years of age.
Real Madrid superstar slammed by rival team’s captain
While speaking to DAZN ES and as reported by Tribuna, when asked, which of the Madrid players could be a role model for his children, Antonio Raillo answered:
"“If one day I have to set a player as an example for them, I will put Modric or Benzema, but Vinicius…never.”"
That is certainly a pretty harsh statement to make, especially about someone who is just 22. One can only hope that this acts as extra motivation for Vinicius going into the game vs Mallorca at the weekend. Of course, Real Madrid have a match against Valencia before that.
It is safe to say that every Real Madrid fan is behind Vinicius, in what is a difficult run for him. He has not been the only one who has struggled for form, but as one of the faces of the team, the magnifying glass has been on him much more often.