Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed rumors about Brazilian star Vinícius Junior leaving Real Madrid.
When asked about whether he was irritated by questions about Vinícius’s future, Ancelotti quickly responded, “No, no! I’ve been getting more angry at press conferences lately… I shouldn’t be like this.” There were three more questions regarding the Brazilian forward’s future, and the Real Madrid coach made it clear that Vinícius is happy at the club and aims to reach new heights while staying at Madrid.
Last year, media outlets like ESPN reported that Saudi Arabia showed strong interest in signing Vinícius. However, the rumors didn’t progress further. Recently, ESPN mentioned that Saudi authorities had reached out again last month, reaffirming their interest in the 24-year-old forward.
Regarding the Saudi offer, Vinícius stated that his focus is solely on Real Madrid.
Vinícius will miss Real Madrid’s upcoming match against Real Valladolid on Saturday due to a suspension. At the previous day’s press conference, most of the questions were about him. Ancelotti was quick to address the rumors and shut them down.
“As far as I know, and from what I’ve been told directly by the player, he is very happy here and wants to make history with Real Madrid. We are all happy here, and we want to make history,” Ancelotti said.
Vinícius finished second in the 2024 Ballon d’Or voting, but he did win the FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award in the same year.
So far this season, he has scored 17 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. However, with the arrival of Kylian Mbappé, some have speculated that Real Madrid is no longer as reliant on Vinícius as before.
Ancelotti reminded everyone of the importance of Vinícius to the team.
“People forget that we won the Champions League in Paris (2022) and in London (2024) with Vinícius. People forget this. There is no room for doubt about his value as a player.”
