Vinicius Jr's escape plan?! Real Madrid winger drops social media hint after fleeing Bernabeu boos for sunny Dubai

After beating Alaves last weekend, Xabi Alonso's Madrid picked up a comfortable 2-0 win over Sevilla on Saturday as Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe were on target. Vinicius was slotted into the starting lineup alongside Mbappe and Rodrygo in the attack and stayed on the pitch for 83 minutes before being substituted. 

The Brazilian winger, who has had an underwhelming 2025-26 campaign, having scored just five goals and provided eight assists across all competitions, was jeered by the home crowd at the Bernabeu, which sparked fresh speculations over the player's long-term future at the club. 

Only a day after being booed by the Madrid fans, Vinicius jetted off to a warm Dubai during the brief winter break in La Liga. While the 25-year-old's trip to UAE is reportedly part of Madrid's commercial partnership with Visit Dubai, his cryptic social media action is what caught everyone's attention.

In his caption on his story, Vini Jr wrote: "We are here again." However, the action that grabbed the headline was his change of profile picture. The Selecao star changed his previous profile in a Madrid jersey to one in Brazil's colours.

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Bayern Munich legends Oliver Kahn and Dietmar Hamann delivered a damning verdict on Alonso’s tumultuous start at Madrid earlier this month. While the legendary goalkeeper Kahn argued the Spaniard’s tactical obsession clashes with the club’s DNA, Hamann claimed the squad are now 'untrainable' after Vinicius was allowed to undermine the manager’s authority.

Speaking on Sky Sport Germany, former Bayern CEO Kahn suggested that these struggles were inevitable because Alonso's philosophy is fundamentally incompatible with the 'Galactico' culture. "It is no surprise because his idea does not fit Real Madrid," Kahn explained. "The approach Xabi pursues with this system football and positional play requires very specific players. At Real Madrid, however, completely different football is played.

"It is about freedom and individuality; players do not want to be pressed into systems there, and that is the great misunderstanding. You need a coach who finds the best way to bring superstars together, but not one who starts explaining to them that they must play a very specific system."

"The decline began with the FIFA Ballon d'Or, when Vini Jr. and the whole club boycotted the event," Hamann then added. "That gave Vini the feeling he is bigger than the club. Then came Barcelona, when he was substituted after 70 minutes, made a huge fuss, and received no punishment.

"The coach was finished after that, and now this is just a consequence of what has happened in the last few months. At the moment, they are unmanageable. It took five or six months to burn the hottest stock on the coaching market, and if an Alonso can't manage it, then God have mercy on whoever follows him."

In the last couple of months, there has been a lot of drama surrounding the Madrid dressing room, which was reportedy collapsing. Vinicius, seen as the centre of the unrest, apparently felt that his role had been diminished at the club. Being left out of major starting line-ups and used inconsistently only deepened his irritation. Meanwhile, some of the club’s marquee figures - Mbappe, Thibaut Courtois, Arda Guler, Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras - were said to be firmly behind Alonso. 

The flashpoint came during the last Clasico, when the 25-year-old reacted angrily after being substituted. Vinicius issued a written apology days later but pointedly left Alonso’s name out. That omission strengthened the perception of a fractured relationship. 

But according to reports in Mundo Deportivo, the Brazilian later apologised in person to both the staff and the full squad. And when Madrid beat Olympiacos 4-3 in Greece, Vinicius walked directly to Alonso at full-time, the two embracing publicly, signalling a desire to move forward and stabilise the situation. The winger, however, is yet to reach an agreement over a fresh contract with Los Blancos.