Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti sends timely message on star's criticism – 'He's not at his best'

Carlo Ancelotti sent a timely message to the club, the fans and the press in the Spanish capital, at least the affiliated ones Real Madrid. Amid a media firestorm of criticism from both Brazil and Spain, Ancelotti told the media ahead of their clash with Real Sociedade that Vinicius must be shown a lot of love.

“He is not at his best, but he is very decisive for us,” began Ancelotti. “We are not in a hurry. The team scored and it was important. The last thing that worries me is Vinicius. He always works hard and gives everything he has. I am very happy with what he did. I can't think that everyone will always be at 100%.”

One of the reasons that the media has made such an intense scrutiny on Vinicius is the rumors of a potential interest from Saudi Arabia, which was confirmed on Thursday by a director of Al-Ahli. Ancelotti did not believe it would be a distraction for him.

“I don't know if an offer (from Saudi Arabia) has come or not, I talk to him every day. We never talked about it. Vinicius loves playing football so much, that everything that happens outside the camp, he will not take his idea of ​​what to do, which is to play football,” said Ancelotti.

Finally, questions have also been asked about Vinicius' international form, following disappointing performances against Ecuador and Paraguay, with some even calling for him to be dropped. Vinicius explained the difference in performance by stating that the ball moves much more slowly in South America, but Ancelotti found a different explanation.

“The explanation I found is that the problem of Brazil, which I don't want to go, is a general problem. They had difficulty finding their best version. It's not Vinicius' problem, it's a general problem. We are happy with him. He is not in his best version, no one can be all the time.”

“But we can't forget that thanks to Vinicius we won 2 Champions Leagues,” said the Italian, slowing down for emphasis. “We have a lot of love for Vincius, here at Real Madrid.”

His last words, after he left the press conference, felt timely. There have been a number of articles that say that some of the club are not happy with his words about Spain that could be kicked out of the World Cup. It seems unlikely that any criticism will be allowed without some tacit permission as well – Ancelotti clearly wants his star to be protected and defended by the club.