Madrid press continue to criticise Vinicius Junior – stats, statements and Saudi Arabia

Vinicius Junior is a candidate for the Ballon d’Or this year, but the coverage of the Brazilian continues to be prickly and uncomfortable in the Spanish capital, as well as in his home country after a disappointing international break.

Like most of Real Madrid’s players, Vinicius has not started the season on fire, and Diario AS point out that his chance conversation rate has dropped from 25% to 9% from last season, and he has just one goal in his 7 appearances for club and country, which was from the penalty spot.

Meanwhile in Brazil, the Selecao’s poor performance Ecuador and dreadful defeat to Paraguay has had some even asking for Vinicius to be dropped from the starting line-up because of his own poor form. The 24-year-old has often struggled to translate his game to the international level, with just 10 goal contributions in 35 appearances.

Alongside his form, Vinicius riled people in Spain and at Real Madrid with his comments about Spain perhaps losing their ability to host the 2030 World Cup if it cannot improve their record when it comes to racism. Following summer months in which Saudi Arabia rumours linking him with a huge move were frequent, it has even been suggested that there are elements within Los Blancos that would contemplate an exit.

That seems grossly premature, given few of Real Madrid’s squad have been particularly impressive. Undoubtedly, Vinicius has not been at his best in recent weeks, but while the goals are not there, the rest of his game is. He leads La Liga and Europe for successful take-ons and progressive carries, while ranking second for shot-creating actions. Vinicius has also assisted, making it two goal contributions in four Liga matches.