“You need to be here to play!” - Vinicius Jr’s savage dig at ex-Real Madrid teammate Marcos Llorente during derby vs Atletico comes to light

Real Madrid’s talisman Vinicius Jr had a verbal fight with Atletico Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente during the Madrid derby in La Liga on Sunday, September 29. Both players were seen having a heated exchange in the clash.

The match was played under heightened tensions as both sides aimed to improve their standings on the table. In the past, Vinicius Jr has been on the receiving end of racist chants from Atletico Madrid fans whenever Real Madrid play them.

The match on Sunday was an incident-laden one. Prior to the clash, it was reported that Atletico Madrid fans planned to organize a racist-motivated campaign targeted at Vinicius Jr. The Atleti fans delivered on their plans as they made it frustrating for Real Madrid players.

At one point, the game had to be paused due to the fans pelting goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with objects from the stands.

Apart from that, an unsavory scene was captured between Vinicius and Koke. The former went down following a challenge from Robin Le Normand and the latter was irked about his theatrics and approached him to berate him about it.

Responding to the outburst, the Real Madrid forward allegedly said (via Mundo Deportivo):

"I have two Champions Leagues, you have nothing. You’ve lost two UCLs, I’ve won two. Of course, you lose because you’re bad. You’re bad’’.

Marcos Llorente came to the defense of his teammate and replied (via SPORTbible):

"You can’t talk to me. That’s why you’re here because you need to be here to play’’.

The match ended 1-1 as Angel Correa scored a last-gasp equalizer to salvage a point for Atletico Madrid after Eder Militao opened the scoring for Los Blancos.

Former Real Madrid player defends Vinicius Jr after loss to Lille

Former Real Madrid player Predrag Mijatović defended Vinicius Jr.'s performance following Los Blancos' loss to French side Lille in the UEFA Champions League last night.

Mijatović opined that the Brazilian’s output will be dependent on the number of opportunities his teammates give him. Real Madrid lost 1-0 to Lille at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in their second UCL game of the 2024-25 season. Jonathan David’s well-converted spot kick was enough to secure all three points for the Ligue 1 outfit.

After the match, Predrag Mijatović slammed the whole Real Madrid team but excluded Vinicius Jr. He said (via Tribal Football):

"You were talking about Vinicius' poor performance, but his way of playing depends a lot on the balls that come to him. And against Lille, we didn't have the creative midfield that can give him the useful balls for him to play his game."

Real Madrid will resume their Champions League campaign after the international break at home against Borussia Dortmund on October 22.