"He's lost his mind!" Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior is torn apart by a legendary German manager – Antonio Rüdiger also comes in for sharp criticism

“I’ve noted here what’s been getting on my nerves about Real Madrid: theatrics, diving, Vinicius Junior,” Lienen began, adding: “I’m slowly finding it unbearable to watch the lad. As good as he is at football, Vinicius Junior has lost his marbles as far as I’m concerned.”

There were plenty of side issues during Madrid’s 3-4 defeat in the Champions League quarter-final second leg in Munich. Once again, Vinicius found himself in the spotlight for reasons other than his ability on the ball. With the score at 3-2, he lost possession to Dayot Upamecano and ignored Jude Bellingham, who had closed him down. The England international then confronted his team-mate on the pitch. 

Spain’s Movistar captured the exchange, showing the Brazilian snapping back, “What do you want? Shut up!” That outburst may well have sealed Lienen’s verdict.

The former manager of clubs including 1860 Munich, Cologne, Gladbach, Hannover, Bielefeld, Rostock and St. Pauli immediately took aim at half of Real Madrid’s star-studded squad. “There were five or six blows to the face that Arda Güler, Brahim Díaz and Eder Militão claim to have suffered during some sort of running duel,” he said, drawing a parallel with Rüdiger, who had repeatedly intervened. “It’s disrespectful the way he runs around on the pitch!”

Rüdiger himself had been involved in a separate on-field altercation. Just before Kylian Mbappé’s 3–2 strike, the Germany international had brought Bayern’s Josip Stanisic crashing to the ground with a challenge that merited a yellow card, then, during his team’s celebrations, leaned in toward the Croatian defender. Afterward, the 26-year-old Stanisic claimed Rüdiger had insulted him. “In my opinion, that kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable. Only one word was said—and that twice. But you can ask him yourself what he said. Perhaps he’s man enough to admit it.”

That, Lienen believes, is another reason why national team coach Julian Nagelsmann should leave the centre-back at home for the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. “That incident showed such a lack of respect that it reinforced my belief he should not be put in the position of making that transatlantic journey. It’s dangerous over there,” fumed the 72-year-old. 

Rüdiger also clashed with Alphonso Davies. At half-time, with Stanisic booked and replaced by the Canadian, Davies was waiting on the touchline for the referee’s signal when Rüdiger slapped his left hand across his face then shoved him aside.

It was not the first time the 33-year-old had attracted negative attention recently. He has been under particularly close scrutiny since the 2025 Copa final between Real and FC Barcelona. After Rüdiger verbally abused the referee and threw a roll of tape in his direction, he received a six-match ban. 

Critics in Germany called for him to be dropped, yet Nagelsmann kept selecting the centre-back, effectively placing him on probation. “The limit has been reached. He must not allow himself to do any more of this, otherwise there will be more serious consequences,” the coach warned at the time. 

Although he is no longer a automatic starter for the DFB, Rüdiger is still expected to be picked, standing as the first backup to Nico Schlotterbeck and Jonathan Tah.