“It’s unbelievable the way he scares defenders. If he just finishes sharper, he will be a football god,” former Real Madrid midfielder Guti said about Vinicius in a conversation with El Chiringuito last April.
After all, Mbappe ended the 2022/23 season by contributing to 51 goals for PSG, including 7 goals in 8 appearances in the Champions League. Meanwhile, Vinicius contributed to 44 goals, the best achievement in his career. It is worth mentioning that Vinicius scored 3 goals and had 4 assists in the victories in the 1/8 round and quarterfinals against Liverpool and Chelsea. On the contrary, Mbappe completely disappeared when PSG was eliminated by Bayern in the 1/8 round.
Injuries have hampered Vinicius’ progress this season. But he has once again played a decisive role since returning to play in early 2024. The Brazilian striker has scored 5 goals in the last 4 matches in all competitions. Most notable was the hat-trick in the 4-1 victory over Barca in the Spanish Super Cup final.
Despite his excellent performances, it seems that Vinicius has not been properly recognized. He did not get a place among the final 12 nominations for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award in 2023. Despite emerging as the most important member of Real, the Spanish media is still reluctant to give Vinicius the credit he deserves.
Faced with frequent and abhorrent racist abuse, Vinicius was branded a villain, accused of irritating fans and opponents with his flamboyant playing style and outspoken personality. instead of receiving appropriate support.
Real always sided with Vinicius in this issue, but the club’s leaders are also very aware of the negative publicity he created. According to SPORT, president Florentino Perez believes that Mbappe is a more suitable leader for Real than Vinicius.
Vinicius’ unique talent is not appreciated as much as it should be at the Bernabeu because of the noise off the field. And for that reason, it seems that Real Madrid only sees him as a disposable asset.
The position that Real is lacking in attack today is a high-class center forward like Erling Haaland, not a winger like Mbappe. Of course, there will be many people who claim that Mbappe can play the number 9 position well. But reality shows that he only really shines when playing on the left wing.
In addition, the troubles that Mbappe caused are not small. He made Real happy twice when he “turned around” to sign a new contract with PSG. This player was also expelled from the first team by the Paris team at the beginning of the 2023/24 season for refusing to renew. It can be seen that Mbappe is the seed that causes instability for every team.
If Real replace Vinicius with Mbappe, they will be exchanging a divisive figure for an equally destabilizing one. At least Vinicius’ loyalty was never questioned.
Currently, the only weakness in Vinicius’s playing style is that he is still influenced by emotions and is not “tough” enough to face the provocations of opponents as well as the audience. However, as noted by Vinicius, he is mature enough to realize where he still needs to improve. “I’m not a saint,” Vinicius said after Real’s 4-1 win first. “Sometimes I talk too much, sometimes I dribble unnecessarily. But I’m still learning to improve myself.”
Mbappe is 2 years older than Vinicius but has never shown the same ability to analyze situations on his own. PSG boosted his ego to the point where it really felt like he was bigger than the club. And that comes at the expense of their overall performance.
Vinicius is not complacent like Mbappe and always tries his best for the team. So, it’s time for Real to give Vinicius the respect he deserves. Mbappe is also a world-class player, but Real does not need him at this time nor the problems he brings.