La Liga president Javier Tebas has spoken in support of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr, saying that on several occasions, he has said the young Brazilian is going to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or in the future.
Tebas’ comments came after he found himself under fire following his remark on the recent racism row involving Vinicius Jr. The Madrid forward was racially abused by a section of Valencia fans following which three individuals were arrested by the Spanish police
The 22-year-old publicly called out La Liga and Spain for being racist which prompted Tebas to issue a statement on his social media channels.
“Before criticizing and insulting LaLiga, it is necessary that you inform yourself properly,” read the statement from the president. This aggravated the Brazilian FA who, too, was quick in coming up with a response.
Over the last couple of days, several measures have been taken and Valencia were eventually penalised for the incident as the Competition Committee demanded them to partially close the stadium for five games in addition to an economic fine.
Now, after having said that his comments corresponding to the events were misinterpreted, Tebas has said that the Madrid forward was insulted because he is a great player, adding that everyone wants him to continue playing in Spain.
“Vini Jr is being insulted because he’s a great player. We want him to continue in Spanish football and to understand what we are doing against racism,” the president was quoted by COPE.
He went on to add, “On several occasions, I have said that I think Vini is going to be a Ballon d’Or winner one day.”
The president went on to say that he believes the 22-year-old could replace Messi in the future. “They asked me who was the player who could replace Messi and I answered Vinicius.”
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