Marc Cucurella has waded into the Vinícius Júnior debate and backed the winger to get back to his best. The Real Madrid forward is on four-match suspension after the red card against Villarreal, and Cucurella argues the criticism around him has been harsher than the praise.

Cucurella's defence of Vinicius

Cucurella said the issue is one of visibility, not effort. "I do not think Diomande helps me more. It is simply more visible. Diomande makes one recovery and they show it everywhere. Vinicius makes three, and then in one action he does not run, and they show precisely that one, the one where he did not run," he told WP SportoweFakty, in comments translated from Polish.

That lines up with the wider numbers. Vinicius has 8 La Liga appearances this season, 535 minutes, 1 goal and 3 assists. The output is below his usual level, but it is also coming in a season broken up by suspension, not a full uninterrupted run.

Cucurella made the same point more directly in another quote. "If Vini were scoring three goals in every match, nobody would say anything to him. The most important thing for us is that he gets back to the highest level, because if he is in his prime, we have a fantastic team."

Real Madrid's selection question

The debate is not really about whether Vinicius belongs at Real Madrid. It is about whether he walks straight back in after serving those four matches. Madrid have won eight consecutive matches, and that has changed the tone around the team selection, because the side has kept moving without him.

Yan Diomande has also made the discussion more awkward. He has 11 appearances, 693 minutes, 3 goals and 2 assists in La Liga this season, which is enough to give Madrid a real choice rather than an automatic return for Vinicius.

Cucurella also reserved praise for Arda Guler, who he said remains a little in the shadows. "He plays a lot, he has huge quality. When he is on the pitch, the team plays better and we have more combination play. He surprised me the most," Cucurella said. Guler's 12 appearances, 725 minutes, 3 goals and 4 assists explain why that view is not hard to defend.

The blunt truth is that Vinicius is still the bigger name and still the more proven game-breaker, but the suspension and the form around him have opened the door for debate. Madrid do not need to force the issue immediately, and that is what makes the next league team sheet worth watching.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →