Bernardo Silva shields Vinicius from a storm of criticism with a clear message

"I am extremely happy in Madrid"

Bernardo Silva has sent a message of support to his Real Madrid team-mate Vinicius Junior, with the Brazilian enduring an extremely difficult spell.

Vinicius has struggled to rediscover his best form. Heavy criticism this season gave way to a four-match ban in La Liga, and his ordeal only deepened as team-mate Yan Diomande dazzled on the left flank.

Handed a start against AEK Athens in the Champions League yesterday, the forward looked lacklustre and fuelled the criticism aimed at him.

Silva, speaking to the newspaper "AS", said: "I feel overwhelmingly happy, as the team welcomed me as a member of the family. I am extremely happy in Madrid. I am striving hard to develop and to strengthen my relationship with my team-mates".

He continued: "Vinicius Junior has been a very important player for Real Madrid in recent years, and everyone at the club is aware of how important he is".

The Portuguese signed off by underlining just how much Vinicius matters: "We need a player of this type in order to be able to achieve victory".