Former Barcelona star Giovanni has claimed Real Madrid‘s Vinicius Jr is a ‘limited athlete’. He believes that any defender who is strong and fast can keep him out of the game easily.
Speaking on Benja Me Mucho, Giovanni said that Vinicius Jr’s best quality is his speed and dribbling. However, the Real Madrid winger is not a decisive player like Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, something that the currrent Brazil side is lacking. The former Barcelonastar said:
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“Vinicius Jr is a limited athlete, he just dribbles at speed. That’s it. If you put a strong, fast guy marking him, he won’t do anything. He’s not the decisive player. The current Brazilian national team lacks a core player. They play when they have the ball, but they don’t have someone like we had back in the day – no Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Romário, Ronaldo…not a single one.”
Brazil national team coach Carlo Ancelotti sent a clear message to the Real Madrid star earlier this season, saying that his place in the FIFA World Cup squad was not guaranteed. He was talking about Neymar when he sent the warning and said (via Tribal Football):
“He [Neymar] has to be at 100%. There are many very good players, I need to choose players who are at 100%. It’s not just Neymar, it could be Vinicius. If Vinicius is at 90%, I’ll call up another player who is at 100%, because it’s a team with a very high level of competition, especially in attack. In attack, we have many very good players.”
Vinicius Jr has not been at his best this season, scoring just 6 goals in 22 La Liga matches.
Real Madrid urged to sell Vinicius Jr and buy Barcelona target
Former Real Madrid player Pedja Mijatovic has urged Los Blancos to sel Vinicius Jr at the end of the season. He believes that the club need Barcelona target Erling Haaland to lead the attack and said (via Tribal Football):
“If I were a sporting director, I would sell Vinicius and buy a striker to allow (Kylian) Mbappé to play on the left wing. Vini is a great player, but the club must also consider the image he transmits. Yes, his performances are at a high level, but his image is not always the best. He has a significant market value and Madrid could reinvest that money in big purchases.”
Barcelona are looking to Erling Haaland as the perfect replacement for Robert Lewandowski, whose contract expires this summer.
Edited by Sripad