Why racist chants are making it difficult for Vinicius Jr to carry on at his dream club

Tears streamed down Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Jr’s face in a pre-match press conference on Monday when he was asked about the racist incidents he faced in Spain for the last couple of years. A strong-willed player who always sounded defiant while facing the hatred, finally looked like he had had enough. Sometimes, people tend to forget this was just a 23-year-old who had come to Spain from his native Brazil to play football. The racist hatred he receives is totally uncalled for.

“It’s something very sad what I have been going through here. It’s tough. I’ve been fighting against this for a long time. It’s exhausting because you feel like you are alone. I’ve made so many official complaints but no one is ever punished. “More and more I’m losing my desire to play. But I’ll keep fighting,” the Brazilian said on the eve of Brazil vs Spain’s “One Skin” friendly match.

“I’m sorry. I just want to keep playing football. I just want to keep doing everything that I can for my club and for my family. I’ll stay here, playing for the best club in the world and scoring goals and winning titles. And people will have to keep seeing my face for a long time,” he added after recomposing himself.

Racist incidents against Vinicius is not something new

The racist abuse before the One Skin friendly wasn’t the first time the Brazil forward has been subject to these kinds of incidents throughout his career in the Spanish capital. Last May, Real Madrid had launched a complaint against some Valencia fans who had aimed racist chants towards Vinicius at Estadio de Mestalla. Even before that, chants of “die Vinicius” were heard in Barcelona’s 2022-23 league title winning celebrations which led to the filing of 8 complaints of racial