Vinicius Junior claimed his celebrations aimed at Manchester City supporters was to prove himself to them after the 2024 Ballon d’Or rancour.
Rodri picked up the gong 18 months ago, with nobody from Real Madrid attending the ceremony in Paris after learning of the result earlier in the day.
City fans mocked Vinicius by unfurling a huge Oasis-themed banner with Rodri kissing the trophy before last year’s game at the Etihad Stadium and the Brazilian enacted his revenge on Tuesday night by mimicking crying.
‘The last time I came to Man City, they were sort of making fun of me, saying maybe I was crying about the Ballon d’Or,’ he said.
‘I wasn’t disrespecting the City fans [today], it was just a way to sort of prove myself to the Manchester City fanbase.’
Pep Guardiola refused to blame captain Bernardo Silva for the deliberate handball and red card that led to the Vinicius penalty, which put paid to the tie as a contest.
Vinicius Jr celebrated provocatively in front of the Man City fans on Tuesday night
‘Ten against 11, it’s almost impossible,’ Guardiola said. ‘Next season will be bright, we will be back.
‘Sport is a challenge. Go home. There was a feeling that, “ah we couldn’t play a proper game” and see what happened. We have an extraordinary team and extraordinary group of players.’
Guardiola – who has a year left on his contract – responded to questions on his future by saying: ‘Everyone want to fire me, why? One day I will come here and say, “bye, bye guys”.
‘The fans know what they have seen tonight. They know it perfectly well. They know that it was close.’
City had launched an early onslaught on Real Madrid’s goal and manager Alvaro Arbeloa praised Thibaut Courtois for repelling the hosts – and backed Trent Alexander-Arnold to earn an England call up on Friday.
‘Maybe Thibaut is the best in history,’ he said. ‘We are so happy to have him with us. Trent is getting better. He has a lot of quality. He’s now more involved with his team mates.’
