Charlotte Daly writes for the Daily Mail
Updated at 09:15 on December 30, 2023, 09:29 on December 30, 2023
- Vinicius Junior shows off his epic back tattoo on social media
- Tattoo shows Ali’s iconic celebration after defeating Sonny Liston
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Vinicius Junior showed off his tattoos on social media, which feature Kobe Bryant, Pele, Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.
The tattoos on Vinicius’s back show Alli’s iconic celebration after defeating Sonny Liston, as well as Pele’s celebration after winning the title with Brazil.
The tattoo on the Brazilian international’s back is also a tribute to the NBA, with tattoos of Kobe Bryant and Jordan.
Vinicius added the words “mentality” and “Black Lives Matter” after being racially abused ten times in Spanish football stadiums this year.
Vinicius was photographed enjoying some down time and was seen spending time with LeBron during the Christmas Day game against the Boston Celtics.
Vinicius signed a new four-year contract with La Liga giants Real Madrid earlier this year. After renewing his contract, the Brazil international will remain at the Bernabeu until June 2027.
Vinicius joined Real Madrid in 2018 at the age of 18 and has since made 235 appearances, scored 63 goals and won nine major trophies, including two La Liga titles.
The 23-year-old scored the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final, helping Real Madrid defeat Liverpool and win their 14th European Champions League.
However, the Brazilian’s performances in La Liga have been marred by racism. He was allegedly racially abused after being substituted in stoppage time during Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Barcelona on Saturday.
La Liga acknowledged the incident and said it had launched an investigation.
“La Liga has been working hard from the beginning to identify the individuals involved in racist insults and will, as always, press charges,” the statement read.
“We are coordinating with the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) and FC Barcelona.”