Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior said on Monday that his
"desire to play"
football
was "diminishing"
as racist incidents against him accumulate in Spain, during a press conference where he burst into tears.
"I'm sorry. I just want to play football. I just want to play, I want to do everything for my club and for my family and for black people to never suffer again
,” Vinicius said, very moved in front of the press.
The Real Madrid player spoke on the eve of the Spain-Brazil friendly match (9:30 p.m.) organized in response to the racist insults of which he has frequently been the victim since his arrival in Madrid in 2018.
“I've been seeing this for a long time, and each time it happens I feel sadder, and each time I want to play less
,” he explained, wiping away tears.
The 23-year-old striker believes, like his club teammate Dani Carvajal, that Spain is not
“a racist country”
, but
“that there are a lot of racists, a large number of them in the stadiums”
.
“Since the first time I complained about racism in Spain, the situation has continued to get worse... They insult me because of the color of my skin so that I play less well on the pitch”
he said.
Frequently targeted by opposing supporters,
“Vini”
, who despite himself became a leader of the anti-racist fight, nevertheless assured that he had
“never thought”
of leaving Real, because
“that would prove the racists right”
.
“I will stay in the best club in the world, scoring as many goals as possible
,” promised Vinicius, who will be the most scrutinized player on Tuesday at the Santiago-Bernabéu with the Seleção.