- The pair met for the first time during the 2021-22 season and have a long history.
- Vinicius Jr was one of the players who tangled with Pablo Maffeo in Saudi Arabia
- Hear It's all starting! Why Manchester United might have to sell Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho
Vinicius Jr rekindled his long-running feud with Mallorca star Pablo Maffeo during an intense Super Cup encounter at the Bernabeu on Thursday night.
The Real Madrid superstar and the defender have a history, having first faced each other during a match in the 2021-22 season when Los Blancos faced their LaLiga counterparts.
The Brazil international had been the subject of a tough challenge from Maffeo, and although the two were thought to have reconciled, tempers flared during the cup tie in which Carlo Ancelotti's side took a 3-3 win. 0.
It only took 10 minutes for the paper to turn between the pair, after Maffeo attempted to unbalance the striker with some overzealous early marks.
To defend himself, Vinicius waved a hand on the defender's chest, prompting him to drop to the ground to try to commit a foul.
On the pitch, Jude Bellingham sought to have Maffeo punished for what he believed was a fall, and the Real Madrid substitutes' bench was also outraged and eager to redirect the attention of referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea to stop the Mallorca player.
Vinicius Jr (pictured) told Mallorca's Pablo Maffeo to “come home” in their Super Cup clash
The Real Madrid star told the defender he was “terrible” as they rekindled their feud in Saudi Arabia.
Carlo Ancelotti was forced to take his player off for his behavior to try to keep him on the field
Instead, De Burgos Bengoetxa spoke to both players before signaling for play to continue, but Vinicus is believed to have warned Maffeo about his behavior in the first half as the two teams headed into half-time.
Ancelotti's son Davide, Real Madrid's assistant coach, quickly intervened but could not completely dissolve his player's bad blood.
Shortly after Jude Bellingham's 63rd-minute goal, Vinicius was caught on camera mocking Maffeo, telling him he was “terrible” in Spanish.
“Go back home,” he said repeatedly, before Ancelotti, on the touchline, stopped the Ballon d'Or nominee for his own conduct.
Vinicius was later substituted in favor of Brahim Díaz, but it was not enough to prevent the hosts from challenging Maffeo after the final whistle, when Raúl Ascencio was removed by Ancelotti in an attempt to prevent him receiving a late booking.
Ahead of the tie, Maffeo looked set to fan the flames of controversy with an appearance in a podcast interview in which he claimed he would be confident facing the winger in a boxing ring.
“It would be a spectacle in itself, but I think I would knock him out in ten seconds,” Maffeo told the host, via be in sports.
Yet for all his competitive bluster, Maffeo is among those who have publicly thrown himself behind Vinicius' ongoing fight against racist attitudes in Spanish football.
Maffeo was a victim of Madrid's wrath after falling to a soft tackle from Vinicius Jr
The player fanned the flames of controversy before the match when he suggested he could knock out Vinicius Jr in “10 seconds”, claiming it would be a “spectacle in itself”.
The Real Madrid star has frequently been the target of racist gestures and chants outside the Bernabéu, and has been an outspoken critic of what he believes is inherent racism in Spanish football.
While Maffeo stopped short of agreeing on this last point, he said the player has been “doing the right thing by speaking out.”
“These attitudes (to which Vinicius is subjected) must be condemned because they affect everything.”
Victory in the Super Cup semi-final in Riyadh set up another El Clásico encounter between Real Madrid and hated rivals Barcelona after Hansi Flick's side beat Athletic Club 2-0 on Wednesday night.
The clash will be played in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
