Xabi Alonso has tried to manage the rift between him and Vinicius Junior since he became the manager of Real Madrid in the summer, Softfootball reports.
The Brazilian’s poor behaviour came to its climax last weekend during the El Clasico when Alonso asked for him to be substituted and he got furious, doing some hand gestures and mumbling words before raging off to the bench. Real Madrid eventually defeated Barcelona 2-1 at the Bernabeu.
The hierarchy at Real Madrid were furious and many expected Vinicius to be punished by the club and Alonso, especially after he issued an apology without any mention of Alonso.
In a post by football expert, Fabrizio Romano via his official X handle, Alonso said:
Vinicius Jr will NOT be punished. The matter is closed. He’s was impeccable in his speech in front of all of us.
It’s an interesting stand to take for a player that openly disrespected you in front of almost 600 million fans that watched the El Clasico on that faithful day.
The Reason Alonso is avoiding a fight with Vinicius
Vinicius has been one of the most important players for Real Madrid since Karim Benzemi left the club for Saudi Arabia.
However, since the arrival of Kylian Mbappe. His leadership role on the pitch has reduced tremendously as Alonso focuses more on Mbappe while Vinicius is not the indispensable player he once was under former Coach, Carlo Ancelotti.
And this has followed into his new contract negotiations as Real Madrid are unwilling to pay Vinicius more than Mbappe or even equal to the Frenchman with the excuse that it would disrupt the pay structure at the club.
Real Madrid shared a video on their official X handle on Vinicius and his teammates training.
JOGA BONITO 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/lQVu4yQ8yp
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇧🇷🇵🇹 (@realmadridpt) October 29, 2025Alonso, would not want to keep an unhappy Vinicius in his team because he might disrupt the dressing room. No manager wants that and Alonso in his debut season needs his best players on his side.
Vinicius can be very passionate and a player that can play in any side in the world. Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are already monitoring his situation and Alonso would not want to lose him to any club that could potentially be at them to the UEFA Champions League.
It’s a chess game or mind game if you like but one thing is for sure, Alonso cannot afford to lose the trust of the players because the majority of them would be looking at home they manage Vinicius especially during these troubled times.
