Toni Kroos on Vinicius Junior – “It felt like the whole team was being affected by his behaviour” | OneFootball

Toni Kroos has never been someone to mince his words, and this has continued with his recent comments on former Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior.

Over the last few years, there has been much made of Vinicius’ on-field antics, and this has been brought into further focus of late after his reaction to being substituted during El Clasico. Carlo Ancelotti recently offered advice to the 24-year-old, and Kroos has now followed suit, as he opened up on his own experiences of playing alongside the Brazilian winger, as per MD.

“I often told him to stop, because it felt like the whole team was being affected by his behaviour. It is understandable that it can be a lot for opponents, referees, even rival fans. As a team, we felt that things were turning against us because of that. I tried many times to calm him down on the pitch, just to keep him focused, because he would lose it at moments. I told him over and over: ‘Vinicius, you’re too good. You don’t need all of this’.”

Image via Carl Recine/Getty Images

Does Vinicius need to change his ways?

Interestingly, Vinicius has shown signs of calming down on the football pitch in the weeks after the incident with Xabi Alonso during El Clasico, as he was notably unaffected by fan abuse during the goalless draw at Rayo Vallecano prior to the international break. Real Madrid will hope that their number seven continues on his path, because it could help him return to his best level – at least if Kroos’ remarks are anything to go by.

There is no doubt that the last 12-18 months have been rather frustrating for Vinicius, with the first few months of the current season having also followed this path. Nevertheless, he will hope to turn a corner in terms of his form in the coming weeks.