Benzema shows his support for Vinicius Jr with a public message

Karim Benzema posted a photo of himself alongside Vinicius Jr, his former Real Madrid teammate, on his social media with the caption "The number 1 forever." The message comes as the Brazilian forward is going through a difficult period.

A photo from their time together

According to Football.fr, the snapshot dates back to their time at Real Madrid and is accompanied by the song "Roi" by Jonny Red playing in the background. Football.fr notes that the post was made on Thursday. Foot Mercato, for its part, describes a photo where the two men are side by side and highlights that Vinicius Jr remains heavily criticized in Spain.

A player in difficulty

Foot Mercato reports that Vinicius Jr failed to impress during Real Madrid's victory on the pitch against AEK Athens, where he never managed to get past his opponent. The media outlet adds that he must serve the final match of his suspension this weekend, against Valencia, before the international break.

Football.fr specifies that the suspension follows an incident involving Nathan Saliba, whose hair the player pulled during a match against Villarreal. The site also mentions the racist insults the winger is regularly targeted with in Spain and his failure in the 2024 Ballon d'Or race.

An uncertain future at Real

Still according to Football.fr, the twenty-six-year-old Vinicius Jr has only scored one goal in twelve matches across all competitions, with three assists. He did, however, extend his contract on August 6, until June 30, 2032.

The same media outlet recalls that Benzema arrived at Real Madrid in 2009, developed there alongside Cristiano Ronaldo before succeeding him as leader, won the 2022 Ballon d'Or, and then left in the summer of 2023 for Saudi Arabia.