Vinicius Jr's Shocking Outburst: The Hidden Drama Behind Real Madrid's Champions League Triumph

Reports suggest that Vinicius Junior's visible anger when being substituted during Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Kairat Almaty was directed at his fellow players, not manager Xabi Alonso.

The Brazilian winger was taken off during the commanding 5–0 victory in Kazakhstan with approximately 20 minutes remaining, and cameras captured him making animated gestures toward Alonso while heading to the substitutes' bench.

The natural conclusion was that he was upset with Alonso's decision to remove him from the match, particularly considering his previous concerns about limited playing time this campaign.

Nevertheless, while Alonso was the target of Vinicius's visible displeasure, he wasn't the root cause of the frustration.

According to AS, Vinicius was actually irritated with his teammates' failure to find him in promising attacking positions. The report highlights specific moments where Arda Güler chose not to play the pass, and another occasion when Franco Mastantuono decided against releasing the ball to him.

When questioned about the incident post-match, Alonso downplayed the exchange with Vinicius, describing it as a "comment that we understood" rather than a formal "complaint."

After believing he deserved the 2024 Ballon d'Or, Vinicius now finds himself no longer the undisputed focal point at his own club. His 16th place finish in the 2025 rankings saw him trail Viktor Gyökeres—a player who competed outside Europe's elite leagues last season—while five Real Madrid teammates have accumulated more playing time than him this term.

Despite leading the squad in assists with four, Vinicius has netted just three goals, matching Güler's tally, while Kylian Mbappé surpasses him in both goals (eight) and total goal contributions (nine).

Following last week's victory over Levante, opposing defender Unai Elgezabal criticized Vinicius for alleged disrespectful behavior. The confrontation occurred after Elgezabal fouled the Brazilian, resulting in a penalty decision.

"When disrespect occurs, I believe we must draw the line," the defender stated. "I recognize his tremendous talent, but certain behaviors cross boundaries that I cannot accept personally. I believe in defending and promoting values that sometimes require us to say enough is enough.

"The timing was inappropriate, in my opinion, it was completely out of line."