Vinicius Junior faces uncertain Real Madrid future after red card and relationship split

Vinicius Junior is waiting to discover how long he will be suspended after being sent off in Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Villarreal on Saturday, as the Brazil forward also deals with the end of his relationship with Virginia Fonseca.

The winger was shown a straight red card in the Spanish league victory, meaning he could miss Real Madrid’s Clasico against Barcelona on 25 October.

Just hours after the match, French network RMC reported that Vinicius and Brazilian influencer Virginia Fonseca had formally separated. A statement issued to Brazilian media by Fonseca’s press office, which represents a figure followed by 56 million people on Instagram, confirmed the split.

“There was no disagreement or argument,” the statement said. Instead, the decision was described as an “implicit agreement to end their relationship”.

Neither Vinicius nor Fonseca has commented publicly on the news.

The pair have been the subject of widespread discussion in Brazil and Spain since October 2025, with their relationship going through several changes. They publicly split in May before getting back together in July.

More recently, they had been seen together at a number of public events. Their appearance holding hands at the Spanish Grand Prix in mid-September attracted particular attention.

Red card adds to difficult spell

Vinicius’ problems have also extended to the pitch, where he is experiencing a loss of confidence.

He had been left on the bench for the first time this season before coming on against Villarreal. The Brazil international appeared to believe he had scored a second goal for Real Madrid, only for the moment to turn against him when he was dismissed during the build-up to an attack in the 71st minute.

The red card followed an incident in which Vinicius pulled the hair of Canadian defender Nathan Saliba. He was sent off as Real Madrid attempted to protect their narrow lead.

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho was angered by the referee’s decision and responded by boycotting the news conference after the match.

Vinicius must now wait for the disciplinary authorities to determine the length of his suspension, with the decision potentially affecting his availability for the meeting with Barcelona on 25 October.