Spanish agent tells Vinicius to 'stop playing the monkey' after his celebration

A Spanish agent has apologised for using the expression 'stop playing the monkey' in reference to Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr, which understandably sparked a furious reaction on social media on Friday.

Pedro Bravo, President of the Spanish Agents association, compared Vinicius Jr's behaviour to that of a monkey after the Brazilian winger performed his goal celebration dance against Mallorca on Sunday.

Whilst live on El Chringuito TV, Bravo said: 'You (Vinicius Jr) have to respect the opponent.

'If you want to dance, go to the sambadrome in Brazil.

'In Spain, you have to respect rivals and stop playing the monkey.'

The Madrid-based agent quickly took to Twitter to apologise after his comments were labelled as 'disgusting' on social media.

He claimed that he 'misused' the expression and that the statement was meant 'metaphorically'.

'I want to clarify that the expression “playing the monkey” that I have misused to qualify Vinicius' goal celebration dance was done metaphorically (doing stupid things),' he insisted.

'Since my intention was not to offend anyone, I sincerely apologise. I am sorry!'

Vinicius Jr's style of play and over-confident celebration prompted Mallorca to rush the 22-year-old with heavy tackles and challenges at the end of the match.

PSG superstar Neymar Jr has since backed the youngster's flamboyant celebration, posting a image of the pair dancing whilst on international duty with Brazil.

Vinicius Jr simply replied 'Sempre!', meaning 'always', to imply that he has no intention of putting a stop to his post-goal antics.

Regardless, the Real Madrid star may be wise to tone down the showmanship when the Spanish champions travel to the Metropolitano Stadium to face bitter rivals Atletico Madrid on Sunday.