Neymar Makes Superb Gesture to Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr.

Last week, the footballing world was left horrified by the racial abuse Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior faced away to Benfica, both from opposition fans and even from one of the opposition players.

Although a few clowns suggested the 25-year-old was provoking a reaction, the majority of people in football stood by Vinicius, with Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany providing a very powerful speech in a press conference last week.

As sad as the incidents were, it was very refreshing to see so many people come to the defence of Real Madrid's number 7, showing that, whilst it may not seem the case, there are more good people than bad people in the sport, and a loud minority will not change that.

Vincent Kompany during a press conference — Vincent Kompany came to a passionate defence of Vinicius last week | IMAGO / HMB-Media

One more player who has come to the defence of Vinicius is his Brazilian international team mate, Neymar. On Thursday night, the 34-year old scored for Santos against Vasco da Gama, and celebrated with a dance as a tribute to his team mate.

Speaking after the game, Neymar said:

"The dance was for Vinicius Jr. I told him, when he scored the first goal there in Portugal and faced insults and racism and all that, I said to him: When you score a goal, celebrate in the same way, because if I score a goal, I'll do the exact same thing"
Neymar Jr.

Neymar celebrates scoring against Vasco da Gama — Neymar dedicates his goal to Vinicius | IMAGO / Fotoarena

Just simply very nice words and an even kinder gesture. It cannot be overstated how much better that will make Vinicius feel, knowing that one of his idols dedicated his goal to him. The Real Madrid man commented on Neymar's Instagram post, saying "I love you".

How nice it would be to see the two play together at the World Cup this summer. As starters, they have only played one tournament together - the 2022 edition in Qatar. Neymar was injured for the Copa America in 2024, whilst Vinicius was a bench option back in 2021.

Vinicius and Neymar Jr — Vinicius consoles Neymar after Brazil are knocked out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup | IMAGO / Ulmer/Teamfoto

Unfortunately, Neymar has not been called up to the national team since his ACL injury in October of 2023, so the chances are looking pretty slim. We will have to see if he is called up to the squad for friendlies against Croatia and France next month.

Plus, if Endrick is in the squad, as reports are suggesting he will be, how good would it be to see a future Real Madrid star learning from a legend of the game? We will see.