Vinicius JR needs to get back to playing football.

Without a doubt, Vinicius Jr. is my favorite player in this current Real Madrid squad. A supremely gifted footballer is blessed with pace, strength, footwork, and finishing that can be improved. Vinicius is hands-down the best left winger in world football. So the fact that defenders pay more attention to him is not something that should come as a surprise to him. He is a very good football player.

When he was a hit-and-miss comical spectacle, nobody cared. The Defenders didn’t lose their sleep, peace, or rest when they were coming up against Vinicius two years ago. Now he has developed into the best winger in the world. They are definitely trembling at the thought of facing him. Even managers know this, so they have to set up their teams to double up and sometimes triple up against him.

He is harassed, attacked, and abused on the pitch. And La Liga referees are so lousy at their jobs that they offer him no protection at all. Defenders go hard on Vinicius and get away with it because the referees choose to ignore it. It’s frustrating for him. It is for us fans too, but it’s high time Vinicius recognizes that it is what it is and just accepts it. If the league were going to make any changes, they would have done it a long time ago.

They are not going to do anything about what Vinicius faces every weekend in La Liga. So it’s time for him to stop whining and just focus on the football. There’s no need to lash out at referees every time a decision does not go your way. There’s no need to get in defenders’ faces every time they go hard in their tackles.

There’s no need for all the unnecessary yellow cards he gets on a weekly basis. He was lucky to not get sent off in the Copa del Ray semi-final against Barcelona. What he did to Frenkie de Kong was just stupid, and the referee was right to book him. And his reaction to the booking was even more foolish. He was lucky to get away with only a yellow card; his reaction warranted another yellow card. 

There’s no need to fake fouls and complain to the referees when they ignore them. You give them more reasons to ignore you when the foul is valid. You play into their hands when you do that. They need you to destabilize them. So don’t let them win. Just get back to doing what you are good at: playing football.

Vinicius Jr. also needs to realize he is the main man. Karim Benzema has mentally checked out. He has achieved everything he wants to achieve in the game. He is not the guy he was last season, when he was by far the best player in the world.

It’s all in Vini’s hands right now. He is the one we look to when we are in trouble. He is our talisman. He is the guy. The future.  He has to step up now. Like Courtois said, he is our franchise player. So he has to move like a franchise player, operate like a franchise player, and deliver like a franchise player.

The game against Liverpool showed that he is willing to take on all these responsibilities. Two goals down in 20 minutes at Anfield He took the game by the scruff of the neck and got us back into the game. That’s the sort of responsibility he has on this team. He is the one we need to get us out of sticky situations. When he is not at his best, the team suffers. Vinicius has to get back to playing football. We need him to.