Vinicius Junior is enduring one of the toughest phases of his Real Madrid career. After scoring twice against Villarreal on October 4, 2025, the Brazilian forward went 16 straight matches without finding the net. His dip in form has fueled speculation over his future at the Bernabéu, with reports suggesting Madrid may be weighing drastic decisions.
Amid that pressure, tensions exploded during the Madrid derby. Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone appeared to mock Vinicius from the touchline as Real edged their city rivals, triggering a heated on-field exchange that quickly became the match’s biggest flashpoint.
“𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝑿𝒂𝒃𝒊 𝑨𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐.
Alonso Condemns Simeone’s Touchline Taunts
Television footage showed Simeone repeatedly gesturing and allegedly telling Vinicius that Real president Florentino Pérez would “sack him.” Even as the winger was substituted, the Atletico boss appeared to motion toward the crowd’s boos.
Alonso did not hide his frustration afterward. Speaking both pitchside and later in his press conference, the Real coach doubled down on his stance.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 — 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈,” 𝑨𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Referee intervention followed, with both Simeone and Vinicius shown yellow cards. Simeone later refused to elaborate on his comments, insisting, “What’s said on the pitch should stay on the pitch,” while maintaining he respects all Real Madrid players.
Meanwhile, Real midfielder Federico Valverde played down the drama, calling it part of derby intensity and stressing that “the most important thing is keeping it on the field.”
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