When speaking about the racist taunts he has received in Spain, Vinícius Júnior broke down in tears on Monday. He said that the experience has made him lose interest in playing.
On the eve of Tuesday’s “One Skin” friendly match between Spain and Brazil at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, which was organised to raise awareness about racism almost a year after the Brazil international was subjected to racist taunts during a Spanish league game in Valencia, Vinícius spoke candidly about his battles with racism.
“It’s something very sad what I have been going through here,” Vinícius stated. “It’s challenging. I’ve been struggling against it for a long time. It’s exhausting because you feel alone. I’ve filed numerous official complaints, but no one is ever penalised.”
The Spain-Brazil game comes after Vinícius was subjected to racist and hateful remarks during recent Spanish matches.
“More and more I’m losing my desire to play,” he told reporters. “But I’ll keep fighting.”
The 23-year-old Real Madrid player had to regain his composure several times after crying at Brazil’s pre-match news conference at Madrid’s training camp.
