Friends and close associates of the player, speaking to Reuters, believe that Vinicius is reaping the fruits of his war on racism, and that "the world of football is not yet ready to accept a player who fights racism," stressing that the player and his club, Real Madrid, will continue to fight racism even if it costs them the Golden Ball.

Brazilian Vinicius Junior (24 years old), the winger of the Spanish giant Real Madrid, refused to leave his team and play for Al-Ahli Saudi Club for about one billion euros ($1.1 billion) over five years, according to the Spanish newspaper "Marca".