Former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has spoken out in support of Vinicius Junior after the forward’s angry reaction to being substituted during Sunday’s Clasico win over Barcelona.
Kroos, who said he could relate to the situation, admitted that the winger might later wish he had handled his emotions differently.
“I never liked being substituted either,” Kroos said on his podcast Einfach mal Luppen. “But to be fair, I never went straight to the dressing room… You can always judge from the outside. But nobody, except those who are there, playing a Clasico in front of 80,000 people, with the scoreline at 2-1, knows.
“The last thing you want is to go off. Nobody who’s judging [Vini] can imagine it. Most people simply can’t put themselves in his place.
“With a bit of distance, he’ll probably think ‘I should control my anger inside a bit more.’ I can understand it. It doesn’t give the ideal impression. But it’s an exceptional emotional situation.”
Vinicius was clearly upset when coach Xabi Alonso decided to take him off in the 72nd minute of Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory, questioning the decision as he left the pitch before heading straight down the tunnel.
Reports suggest that the incident has created tension between the player and Alonso, with Vinicius expected to speak with team-mates before holding talks with his manager when training resumes on Wednesday.
🗣️ Toni Kroos: “Vinicius reaction? When you play an exceptional game, especially in a game like this, you are not happy. I never liked being replaced either. But to be fair, I’ve never gone straight to the locker room, but he did return.” pic.twitter.com/2BKfqsBicb
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) October 28, 2025
The forward later returned to the bench for the closing stages and was shown a yellow card after the final whistle when several players, including Dani Carvajal, clashed with Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.
Alonso played down the situation after the game, saying: “We’ll talk about it. I’ll focus on the positive things in the game and the good things from Vini … I don’t want to move the spotlight away from what’s important. Vini contributed a lot.”
Despite contributing five goals and four assists so far this season, Vinicius has been left out of the starting line-up three times by Alonso.
According to reports, Vinicius’ representatives believe Alonso is not a huge admirer of the player, and although the relationship has become strained, it has not completely broken down.
After the Clasico win, Alonso gave his squad two days off. Vinicius reportedly spent the time in Monaco with friends, steering clear of any talk about the controversy.
