Vinicius Jr explains why he taunted Man City fans with goal celebration: ‘They made fun of me last time’

Vinicius Jr says his provocative goal celebration towards Manchester City supporters on Tuesday night was because “they made fun of me” when the two sides played last year.

Vinicius scored twice on Tuesday night as Madrid cruised to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, winning 2-1 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate as they knocked City out for the second consecutive year.

The Brazilian star scored the opener from the penalty spot and despite seeing a stoppage-time second ruled out via VAR – and it was his celebration after this ‘goal’ which provoked City fans, as he turned around and flaunted the name on the back of his shirt – the forward then scored a second goal anyway in the dying seconds.

Speaking to Prime Video afterwards about the celebration, which angered City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Vinicius said: “The last time I came to Man City, they were making fun of me and saying I was crying because of the Ballon d’Or – it was a way of proving myself to the Man City fans.”

Vinicius is referring to the City-Madrid tie last year, in which home fans paraded a banner in the stands showing City midfielder Rodri kissing the Ballon d’Or trophy alongside the message ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ – a reference to an Oasis song and Madrid’s boycotting of the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony after Vinicius missed out on the world player of the year gong.

That night, Vinicius and Madrid had the last laugh, as they won 3-2 on the night before sealing their progression through to the next round.

Real, 15-time winners of the European Cup, look set to play Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals this season, with the Germans holding a 6-1 aggregate lead over Atalanta before tonight’s second-leg.

Vinicius has won the Champions League twice, scoring decisive goals in the 2022 and 2024 finals against Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund respectively.

On his side’s win against City, Vinicius added: “We weren’t under pressure; we knew we still had work to go. We have to keep working hard, we are through to the quarter-finals.

“I was really disappointed not to score last week. It wasn’t to be but I was able to score and I am very happy about that.

“We have been growing as a team. Two superb performances against Man City. We are playing better than before.”