Whistles, the sending-off and Diomande: will Real Madrid pay the price for renewing the "Vinicius lookalike"?
Was the separation the best solution for both parties?
Social media was recently gripped by a strange rumour claiming Vinicius Junior had been swapped for a lookalike. On the pitch, the Brazilian was busy producing something even more laughable. Once among the most mesmerising and influential players on the planet, he has become a shadow of himself, bearing no resemblance to the man who dragged Real Madrid to their European glories.
Last summer, Vinicius and Real Madrid chose to stick together, with a move to Arsenal firmly among the scenarios on the table. Back in August, we asked whether staying in Madrid served the Brazilian's future best, given he had already fulfilled most of his dreams with the Spanish giants, or whether a switch to the Gunners might let him become the main man in a different project.
Renew with Real or leave for Arsenal: what is the best decision for Vinicius Junior's future?
Vinicius chose to stay. He landed a huge contract running until 2032, yet the first weeks of the new season reopened the file in messier fashion. The renewal failed to end the debate over his standing in the team, and his faltering start left him exposed to the fans' criticism.
The worst scenarios are now looming: a drop in form, the anger of the supporters, and the loss of his starting place, all while the team struggles to find a balance between its stars.
So did both parties get the renewal wrong, or is it still too early to judge?
"The lookalike of Vinicius": but the truth on the pitch!
A conspiracy theory has recently gained traction, claiming the real Vinicius has disappeared and been replaced by a lookalike, pointing to changes in his appearance and his level as proof.
Some went further still, suggesting he had vanished or even died during a cosmetic procedure, without a shred of reliable evidence.
Spanish fact-checking website "Maldita" tackled the claims in a report published on 7 October. It found that 10 posts of this kind had racked up more than 27 million views, all without a single piece of supporting evidence.
The bitter irony? Vinicius no longer needs an alleged lookalike to raise questions. On the pitch, he sometimes looks like a ghost of the player Real Madrid's fans once knew, his magic faded and his influence on the wane.
One goal and three assists in his first eight La Liga matches, across 585 minutes. Those are not the numbers of a man meant to anchor the Madrid project.
Then came Villarreal, and the picture turned bleaker still. Vinicius started on the bench. His replacement Yan Diomande scored the winner, and when the Brazilian did come on he was sent off after a video review, sparking widespread controversy.
So "Vinicius's lookalike" has become a sarcastic headline for a painful truth. Nobody replaced the player. But his current level poses a far more serious question: where has the Vinicius who used to make the difference in the biggest matches gone?
The crisis runs deeper than Vinicius
But pinning Real Madrid's problems on Vinícius alone would miss the point. The team is suffering from a tactical imbalance in how it deploys its stars and strikes a balance between attack and defence.
Fielding Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius together, for example, hands Real Madrid immense individual quality. It also sets a clear challenge for the coaching staff. Both drift from the left flank into the centre, both need space to break towards goal, and that makes dividing the roles between them non-negotiable.
The problem grows when neither man presses the opponent as hard as the system demands. Losing the ball in the attacking third doesn't just mark the forwards. It loads extra work onto the midfield and defence.
Delay the first press and the opponent finds more room to play out. The midfielders have to cover wider areas, and the defenders are left exposed to direct duels and counter-attacks.
That leaves José Mourinho with a real dilemma. Does he prioritise the big names even when it harms the team's balance? Or does he redistribute the roles, perhaps dropping one of the stars when the match demands it?
Keeping Vinícius on the bench against Villarreal may suggest his status no longer buys him immunity from competition. On its own, though, it isn't enough to prove Mourinho has made up his mind.
Real Madrid need a collective solution, not simply swapping one player for another.
A squad with this many stars shouldn't settle for waiting on an individual moment to decide matches. It needs a system that makes those stars more effective in attack and more committed once the ball is lost.
Fail to fix this, and Real Madrid may face a season defined by the same paradox: big names, immense potential, and a collective performance that never rises to the ambition.
Diomande knocks on the door
Yan Diomande's goal against Villarreal added another layer to the story. The young Ivorian winger notched his first in a Real Madrid shirt, latching onto a Federico Valverde pass before finding the net to hand his side three vital points.
Crucially, it came in a match Vinícius started from the bench.
None of this means Diomande has overtaken Vinícius, nor that one goal proves he can replace him. But the youngster has handed Mourinho an extra option, and shown that the fight for places shouldn't stop at reputations or the size of a contract.
One of the paradoxes of the renewal comes into focus here. Vinícius signed a huge deal that confirms the club's determination to keep him, yet it brought no guarantee of a starting berth whatever his form. If anything, the rise of a rival in his position could make reclaiming his place harder still should the slump drag on.
Having an alternative who can make an impact is a technical asset for Real Madrid, not a threat in itself. The problem starts when the substitute's spark becomes further proof that the main man isn't doing enough to hold his spot.
Barcelona pull away: Arsenal present a different picture
Real Madrid's crisis is growing more delicate by the week, and Barcelona's flying start to the Spanish league has only sharpened it. Eight games in, the Catalans sit top with a perfect record on 24 points. Real Madrid have 18 and have slipped to third, behind Atletico Madrid.
Six points now separate the two rivals. That gap piles the pressure on Real Madrid, especially if their technical problems and inconsistent displays drag on.
Arsenal, by contrast, keep competing hard in the Premier League, painting a very different picture of stability and the ability to build a collective project.
Which takes us back to the question we posed in the summer: might Vinicius have found in London an environment that handed him a clearer role, free from the constant tussle with Mbappe over space and the spotlight?
Nobody can say for certain that a move to Arsenal would have guaranteed him success. But what is unfolding in Madrid makes that possibility far more worthy of debate than it was a few months ago.
Was the renewal a mistake?
You can't yet call the renewal a definitive mistake, but it clearly failed to solve the problems hanging over Vinicius's future before he signed.
The Brazilian wanted to cement his standing at Real Madrid, and the club wanted to keep one of its biggest stars. Yet the new deal guaranteed him neither the role he craves on the pitch nor an answer to the question of how to fit him alongside Mbappé.
Real Madrid face a challenge bigger than simply restoring Vinicius to his level. They need a more balanced system, a style of play that makes the stars work for the team rather than bending the team to their individual needs.
Vinicius may well rediscover his form over the coming weeks, and Mourinho may find the formula to let both stars shine together.
Drag the current situation on, though, and the questions raised in the summer only grow louder with time.
Back in August, a move to Arsenal was worth discussing. Now even staying is up for debate, Barcelona are pulling clear at the top of La Liga, Diomande is knocking on the door of the starting line-up, and Vinicius has become a target for criticism and ridicule.
Here's what sums the whole thing up. The player an absurd rumour claimed had been swapped for a lookalike now has to prove he can still deliver the level that made him one of the world's biggest stars.
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The truth is Vinicius doesn't need to prove his identity. He needs to recover his influence. And Real Madrid don't need a new contract to confirm their star's value. They need a team that knows how to use his abilities without sacrificing balance.
Should the decline continue, the jeers become a recurring scene and Diomande turn into a genuine rival for his position, both parties may face the hardest question of all: was the renewal a step to protect the future of their relationship, or did it simply hand an old crisis a new contract and a longer life?
