The figures are brutal and testify to a real “stopping”, as on Monday the daily AS. Vinícius Júnior, so sparkling at the start of the season (14 goals in his 16 previous games), seems to have lost his magic since February. And not just a little!
Over the last 14 meetings with Real Madrid, the balance sheet is starry for a player in his caliber: only 2 goals (against Girona and Rayo Vallecano in Liga), a small assist and no penalty provoked. His participation in a goal went from once every 76 minutes to once every… 369 minutes! A dizzying fall that worries and questions while Real Madrid approaches the final sprint. Several factors could explain this sudden loss of efficiency.
The shadow of the Saudi billion?
Difficult to ignore the disturbing coincidence underlined by AS. This drop in regime started at the end of January/early February, just after the same newspaper revelation of a stratospheric offer from Saudi Arabia: 200 million euros per year on five seasons, one billion in total. Even if Vinicius is used to rumors, such a proposal has enough to turn the head and potentially disturbing the concentration of a player, which is pending a contract extension according to the Spanish daily. Simple coincidence or a real destabilization factor? Doubt is allowed.
Vinicius JR supported by Carlo Ancelotti.
The sharing of light with Mbappé?
Another major change this season: the arrival of Kylian Mbappé. If the two stars display a great bond on the field, multiplying the “accomplice gestures”, the dynamics have changed. Accustomed to being the team’s offensive lighthouse since the departure of Karim Benzema, Vinicius must now share the poster and the light with the French genius. This new deal, could this status of co-star rather than a single star, unconsciously weigh on the Brazilian and explain part of his frustration or his current lack of cutting edge? This is another plausible hypothesis.
Simple switch or deeper discomfort?
Beyond these external or psychological factors, it is not necessary to exclude the simple sporting explanation. Like AS analysis, Vinicius still tries as much (his dribble statistics are stable), but his game lost by “biting” (“sin colmillos”). There is a lack of edge in the last gesture, of lucidity in his choices, like this poorly negotiated counterattack in the face of Leganés by tryingly looking for Mbappé. The reason for this mixture may be a mixture of all this: a stroke of fatigue, a destabilization linked to external requests, and an adaptation necessary for a new sharing of offensive leadership. Anyway, Real Madrid needs to find its Brazilian X factor as soon as possible.
