The Brazilian winger Vinicius Jr. claims that the ongoing racism he has experienced has made him feel “less and less” like playing football.
Ten of these events involving the 23-year-old were submitted to prosecutors by La Liga during the previous season.
Vinicius added he would not be forced to leave Real Madrid and Spain and allow racism to win during an emotional news conference on Monday.
We're now on WhatsApp. Click here to join.
He said, nevertheless, that the abuse was making it “hard to move forward” for him.
Tuesday’s international friendly between Brazil and Spain will take place at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid as part of the ‘One skin’ anti-racism campaign.
Vinicius said: “It never crossed my mind [to leave Spain] because if I leave Spain I give the racists exactly what they want.
“I will stay because that way the racists can continue to see my face more and more.
“I’m a bold player, I play for Real Madrid and we win a lot of titles and that doesn’t sit well with a lot of people.
“I just want to play football but it’s hard to move forward; I feel less and less like playing.”
Real Madrid lodged a complaint against referee Juan Martinez Munuera, who officiated their victory in Osasuna, last week, alleging that he failed to include racist taunts directed at Vinicius in his match report.
Osasuna refuted reports that their supporters had chanted racist epithets.
In the past few seasons, Vinicius has seen a great deal of racist abuse.
Among these is Real Madrid’s victory over Atletico in their derby on the road in September 2022, during which the latter team denounced “unacceptable” chants directed against Vinicius by a “minority” of supporters before to the match.
Four individuals were handed a two-year stadium ban and fined 60,001 euros (£51,700) in June of last year for hanging an effigy of Vinicius close to Real Madrid’s training complex in January 2023.
Due to their racist gestures during Real Madrid’s match against Valencia in May of last year, three more people received a punishment of 5,000 euros (£4,300) and a one-year ban.
Reports of racial taunts directed against Vinicius during Real Madrid’s games against Valencia earlier this month, Barcelona the following week, and Sevilla in October have surfaced this season.
