Ex-defender: “Real Madrid must take action with Vini because of his behaviour,”

Ex-Madrid centre-back Rafael Alkorta believes Vinícius Jr., who won The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award, is not a good role model for kids.

Real Madrid winger Vinícius Jr. has been in the spotlight for several days. The Brazilian star was crowned The Best FIFA Men’s Player on Tuesday, but he also found himself at the center of controversy following a 3-3 draw between Rayo Vallecano and Los Blancos on Saturday, during which he taunted Rayo fans about the threat of relegation to the Spanish second division.

Alkorta: “Vinícius' behaviour isn’t appropriate”

In the aftermath of the incident, ex-defender Rafael Alkorta, who played for Madrid between 1993 and 1997, has spoken of his belief that Madrid must clamp down on the Brazilian’s behaviour.

“Regarding Vinicius, I think the club will have to take action at some point,” Alkorta said on Spanish radio programme “El Larguero”. “I’m sure everyone has tried everything, especially Carlo Ancelotti, but I think we need to make the kid understand that, with all his talent, he’s a role model for many kids, and his behavior isn’t appropriate”.

Other panelists also gave their view, with journalist Antonio Romero pointing to the people around Vinícius as being part of the problem. “I’ve said it before, and the main issue with Vinícius is that he has too many sycophants around him. Some of these sycophants are responsible for managing his social media because a paragraph might be something Vinícius read and agreed with. But I assure you, he didn’t write it,” he explained.

The Best FIFA Award: a consolation prize for Vinícius?

For Jesús Gallego, another pundit, the shine has been taken off Vinícius' Best FIFA Men’s Player award by Real Madrid’s attitude towards the Ballon d’Or, which was won by Manchester City’s Rodri.

“If Real Madrid hadn’t made such a fuss by boycotting the Ballon d’Or gala, this award wouldn’t seem like a consolation prize for Vinicius, which is what it looks like,” Gallego claimed.

Article originally written in Spanish, translated with the assistance of AI and edited by Roddy Cons.

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