Ancelotti issues warning to Real Madrid superstar over World Cup spot: ‘If he is at 90%, I’ll call another player’

Real Madrid’s poor form this season can be attributed to both failures at an individual and a group level.

Only a select set of players like Kylian Mbappe and Thibaut Courtois have performed consistently well, with others like Vinicius Jr. not at their best.

While the Brazilian superstar has indeed done better in recent weeks, he is still far from the level expected of him.

Even against Girona last night, he did win the penalty that handed Real Madrid the draw but did not create much attacking threat or goalscoring chances beyond that attack.

Ancelotti’s warning

Brazil will be coached by Carlo Ancelotti at the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and many expected that the former Real Madrid manager’s appointment would mean more prominence for the club’s Brazilian stars.

The manager, however, has made it clear in recent times that he will show no favouritism and will thus select his squad entirely based on merit.

In a recent interview (h/t Mundo Deportivo), he again sent out a warning to the likes of Vinicius Jr., urging them to do better.

Ancelotti warns Vinicius Jr. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

“They [players] have to be at 100%. There are many very good players, I need to choose players who are 100%,” he began, stating that he will choose only based on merit.

He then names out the players he specifically targeted the message to and named Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. to be one of them.

“It’s not just Neymar, it could be Vinicius. If Vinicius is at 90%, I will call another player who is at 100%, because it is a team with a very high level of competition, especially in attack,” he said.

Handed the task of helping Brazil do better than they have in recent World Cups, Ancelotti will not have it easy and must be wise when picking his squad. After all, the Selecao have no dearth of talent in attack.

The pressure, needless to say, now shifts back on Vinicius to improve his form and make a strong case to be included on merit. The situation is far more complicated for Rodrygo Goes who is currently struggling for form and likely to be dropped at this rate.