A post on Real Madrid's social media caused a rift between the club and star player Vinícius Júnior in the run-up to their match against Valencia on March 2, sources told ESPN's Gustavo Hofman.
The Instagram post showed a photo of Vinícius kissing the Madrid shield. However, just below it, the image included a sticker with the logo of Israeli DJ duo 'Vini Vici', which uses a graphic depicting human evolution from monkeys to DJs.
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Although the publication remained online for only 30 minutes, it was seen by Vinícius. The Brazilian striker angrily confronted club officials, demanding an explanation and even threatening to sit out the Valencia match, sources said.
The news about the breakup between Madrid and Vinícius was first reported by the Spanish publication Relevo.
After Vinícius' reaction, the general director of Real Madrid, José Ángel Sánchez, intervened, the sources added. His aim was to calm the player and clarify the situation after the player expressed his discomfort considering his ongoing campaign against racist abuse in football.
Sánchez managed to calm the situation and, according to sources, agreed to Vinícius' request to identify those responsible for the post and implement a stricter protocol in Madrid's policy for approving content on social networks.
Despite the pre-match incident, Vinícius started the match against Valencia at Mestalla, scoring two goals to achieve a 2-2 draw.
Real Madrid declined to comment on the incident when contacted by ESPN.
ESPN's Rodrigo Fáez contributed to this report.
