Mourinho benches Vinícius for Villarreal clash, asks fans to ease up on him

When the starting lineup dropped and Vinícius Júnior's name wasn't on it, alarm bells went off at the Bernabéu. José Mourinho chose to leave him on the bench for the match against Villarreal, the first home game back after the FIFA break, sending summer signing Yan Diomande onto the left flank instead, alongside Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Arda Güler.

The call didn't come out of nowhere. Mourinho had already flagged on Friday in his press conference that the Brazilian isn't going through his best stretch, and the numbers back him up: just one goal in eight games with Real Madrid this season, and not much more sharpness with the Brazil national team, where he scored only once in 192 minutes against Australia and India over the past two weeks.

What stood out wasn't so much the tactical decision as the tone Mourinho used to explain it. The coach came across as unusually candid about what the player is going through, beyond the cold data of goals scored.

What makes me feel bad, and sad, is understanding that he wants to do well, he wants to be the Vinícius who wins games, who wins trophies, who wins Champions Leagues, who makes the difference.José Mourinho

The Portuguese coach went further, hinting that the benching might not be a one-off. He spoke of a "specific plan" to help the forward, one that could even mean cutting his minutes if the situation doesn't turn around.

It's the pain he feels, being a kid who, to my surprise, is a great kid, who's working hard. Will he always keep playing until "our" Vini comes back, or will there come a point where I think the best way to help him is with a specific plan, one that means he doesn't play, and finding another way to help the player?José Mourinho

Mourinho also pointed beyond the locker room. According to the coach, part of the problem lies in how Vinícius is treated from the stands and in the media, something that, in his view, only makes things harder for a player who, he insists, wants to be who he used to be again.

With a kid like this, who right now isn't the otherworldly Vini, it hurts me that the fans, influenced by a good chunk of the media, aren't helping him. He deserves to be helped. He wants to be the Vinícius who's given so much joy to Madrid fans.José Mourinho

The context matters here in understanding where the Brazilian stands. This summer he signed a contract extension through 2032 with the club, after months of negotiations that weren't exactly smooth. And despite that institutional backing, affection from part of the fanbase hasn't always matched it: he's been booed on several occasions at the Bernabéu, most recently last month, right in the middle of a slump in form that in 2024 saw him fight for the Ballon d'Or down to the wire.