Carlo Ancelotti is confident that Vinicius Junior will stay at Real Madrid despite the winger allegedly suffering more racist abuse during Sunday's La Liga defeat to Valencia.
The 22-year-old has been a standout performer for Los Blancos this season, scoring 23 goals and providing 21 assists in 54 appearances across all competitions.
However, speculation over the winger's future at the Santiago Bernabeu has recently surfaced after he was subjected to more alleged racist abuse in Real Madrid's 1-0 La Liga defeat at Valencia last weekend.
The contest at the Mestalla was stopped for 10 minutes midway through the second half after Vinicius confronted Valencia supporters before being guided away by players from both teams.
Vinicius was then sent off in second-half stoppage time after raising his hand into the face of Hugo Duro during a mass melee, and the Brazilian will now serve a two-match suspension.
After the game, Vinicius – who has received alleged racist abuse on nine separate occasions so far this season – took to social media to state that "racism is normal in La Liga" and criticised the Spanish top flight for failing to stamp it out.
Spanish police have since confirmed that seven men have been arrested in connection with separate racist incidents aimed at Vinicius during this season, including three arrests of men that attended the Valencia match.
There were initial reports emerging shortly after Sunday's game that Vinicius would consider leaving Real Madrid this summer due to the consistent abuse he has received in La Liga, but it is understood that the winger is in fact determined to "stay and beat racism in Spain".
Los Blancos manager Ancelotti condemned the "unacceptable" abuse that Vinicius received after the loss to Valencia and has since played down suggestions that the Brazilian will look to seek pastures new.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's La Liga clash with Rayo Vallecano, Ancelotti said: "I do not think [Vinicius] will leave because he loves football and he loves Real Madrid. His love for the club is great and he wants to have his career here.
"He has not lost hope, no. We will see the suspension he receives, and we will evaluate giving him more or fewer rest days. If he is suspended for two games, then I will give him a week off, to be ready against Athletic Bilbao. And if he is out for just one game then no, he will play against Sevilla."
Vinicius missed training with the first team on Tuesday morning, and Ancelotti has confirmed that the winger was absent due to discomfort in his knee.
"We are all concerned about what has happened," Ancelotti added. "It seems fair to me that this subject is being talked about so much. It is a great opportunity to improve things. Vinicius is sad and he did not train today because he had a little bit of discomfort in his knee."
Since joining Real Madrid from Flamengo in 2018, Vinicius has contributed with 59 goals and 64 assists in 224 appearances across all tournaments, while he has also represented Brazil at international level on 21 occasions.
The winger, who is allegedly close to signing a new contract at the Bernabeu, has won a total of nine trophies with Los Blancos, including two La Liga titles, one Champions League and one Copa del Rey, winning the latter competition earlier this season. body check tags ::
