Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said Saturday that he would have left the club this summer if he were in Vinicius Junior’s position.
The Brazilian winger was sent off during Madrid’s win over Villarreal last weekend for pulling an opponent’s hair and received a four-match suspension, ruling him out of the Clasico against Barcelona on Oct. 25.
The 26-year-old has also faced repeated hostility from opposition fans, including numerous incidents of racial abuse, since joining Madrid in 2018.
"He's a spectacular kid who it's easy to have a good relationship with," Mourinho told reporters.
"He's a fantastic boy, tremendous credit to him for the fact that he keeps living and surviving and still having a smile ...
"If it were me in his place, probably I wouldn't be here. This past summer, I would have forced an exit to a league, a country, somewhere there are rival clubs and stadiums that respect him."
Vinicius signed a new contract with Real Madrid in the summer that runs through 2032.
Questions remain over whether Madrid can field attacking stars Vinicius, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham together without losing their tactical balance.
"Because he loves Real Madrid, because he loves the club and the city, because he believes that things can always improve, he renewed and he keeps on smiling," Mourinho said.
"No one or nobody can ... well, influence him negatively, yes, because he's human ... but take away his joy of living and working and being with his teammates, no, no one can do that."
Mourinho substituted Vinicius during Madrid's 4-3 Champions League win over Roma on Wednesday, with the winger still struggling to rediscover the form that helped him win the competition twice under Carlo Ancelotti.
Mourinho said he was happy with the four-match suspension, adding that he had expected some figures within the Spanish soccer federation's disciplinary committee to "give him one or two more."
'There are limits'
Madrid face Sevilla on Sunday, aiming to avoid falling further behind league leaders Barcelona, who visit Real Betis later Saturday.
Hansi Flick's Barcelona have won every match this season and are six points ahead of fourth-placed Real Madrid.
Madrid and Mourinho have blamed referees for some of their results, including a 2-1 derby defeat to Atletico Madrid in September.
On Friday, Real Madrid called for La Liga president Javier Tebas to resign after he compared the club's efforts to discredit referees with the propaganda techniques of Nazi official Joseph Goebbels.
Tebas later sought to clarify that he was referring to "those propaganda techniques" rather than the ideology of the Nazis.
"I don't want to talk about this. There are limits, and there are limits. You can only excuse it if it's a clinical case. Otherwise, there's no excuse," Mourinho said.
"I don't want to go down that road. Madrid and its fans understand what they are up against.
"For the prestige that the league has abroad, for being the current world champions, it's better if we try to keep this here and not let it get out (to the world)."