The battles between Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior and RCD Mallorca defender Pablo Maffeo have been some of the hardest fought in La Liga in recent years, with the latter putting the Brazilian through some brutal challenges. Despite another seemingly risky challenge, Maffeo claims their problems are in the past.
Me parece surrealista que no hayan expulsado al imbécil de Maffeo tras clavarle los tacos en el talón a Vinicius pic.twitter.com/g5xEr4u2IS
— Camavinguismo (@EduCamavinga25) August 18, 2024
There has been tension between the two for some time, with Vinicius certainly seeking out Maffeo at times too, and on Sunday night, Maffeo came in with a studs up challenge on Vinicius during the 1-1 draw between their sides, for which he was booked. Many Real Madrid fans leapt to his defence, declaring Maffeo a thug.
However the Mallorca right-back spoke to Jijantes on his way home from the game, and told Gerard Romero that between them at least, there were no issues.
“During the drinks break, I went to him and said ‘Let’s drop the nonsense, what happened happened, last year, it makes no sense to carry on like this.’ He told me ‘yes, yes, no problem.’ And we were basically getting on fine then. Ultimately it’s not a good image.”
"I went to him and said 'Let's drop the nonsense, what happened happened, last year, it makes no sense to carry on like this.' He told me 'yes, yes, no problem.' And we were basically getting on fine then."
Pablo Maffeo on #vinijr. #RealMadridpic.twitter.com/gkg8faMW60
— Football España (@footballespana_) August 19, 2024
“We have friends in common, they tell me he’s a good lad, and I believe them. Off the pitch. Then I stepped on him, but it wasn’t hard, it was unintentional, it was a yellow and I apologised. But that’s it, we’re fine now.”
“He’s not someone who I think is malicious. There are some people who are malicious, but he doesn’t seem like that sort of lad. He makes mistakes like all of us, but I think if he cleans some things up, he’s very good, and maybe he will clean it up.”
Undoubtedly their head-to-heads have been fascinating to watch, but have spilled over into dangerous territory in recent seasons. In general, things have spilled over between the two teams semi-regularly at Son Moix in recent years, as was evidenced by Ferland Mendy’s thigh-high challenge in the final moments of the draw.
