Real Madrid vs Man City: Vinícius Júnior hits back over banner

Vinícius Júnior had the last laugh in his fd with Manchester City fans with a pointed post on X after Real Madrid knocked Pep Guardiola’s side out of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Ahead of the first leg at Etihad Stadium in the playoff clash, City fans had unveiled a banner that showed Rodri kissing the Ballon d’Or trophy with Oasis lyric “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” written alongside it.

The banner was in reference to Rodri beating the Madrid forward to the prestigious individual award conferred by France Football in October last year. The snub saw Vinícius and the entire Madrid delegation skip the ceremony in Paris.

Following Madrid’s 3-1 win at the Bernabéu that saw them go through to the round of 16, Vinícius posted “Okat, okay, okay” on X accompanied with a crying emoji.

Okay okay okay!!!!!!! 😭

— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) February 19, 2025

The Brazi international made a key contribution in the first-leg of the tie, setting up Jude Bellingham’s last-gasp winner at the Etihad to give the reigning champions a 2-1 lead going into the clash at the Bernabéu.

“I saw it [the banner]. But when opposition fans do things, it always gives me more strength to play a great game, and here I did that,” Vinícius told Movistar after last week’s game. “They know our history and everything we’ve done in this competition.”