“He’s a provocateur, a bit of a clown” – Vinicius Junior strongly criticised by ex-Brazilian footballer | OneFootball

Over the last 18 months in particular, Vinicius Junior has been battling against racists. The Real Madrid superstar has been abused on several occasions during the last couple of seasons, although that is still not enough for some of his fellow Brazilians to defend him.

In an interview with Flashscore (via MD), former Sevilla player Pintinho, who is remembered from the 1980s, strongly criticised Vinicius for “provoking” supporters.

“I have been very critical of Vinicius. He is a player who left Flamengo, he came here and the people gave him all the support in the world. But it started with the issue of racism. I’ve been here (in Spain) for 44 years and I’ve never been racially abused. But what happens is that he a provocateur… He’s a bit of a clown. What he has to do is dedicate himself to playing football.”

It is quite remarkable how Vinicius does not receive unconditional support on this issue, especially from a fellow black Brazilian, who may not have been subjected to the same abuse during his time, but would surely understand that these cases do happen.