As one of the players criticized for Brazil's recent struggles, Vinícius Jr. received staunch support from his Real Madrid coach, Italian Carlo Ancelotti. Ancelotti acknowledged that Vinícius "is not at his best," attributing the issue to his lack of preseason preparation and defended his commitment, calling for "a lot of support" from Madrid fans.

"I think he’s not at his best, but he remains very important to us. He was decisive in winning the Super Cup with an assist; it’s true that he hasn’t scored as usual, but there’s no rush. The team scored, and he was important," Ancelotti said in a press conference on Friday at Real Madrid's training facility in Valdebebas.

"My last concern is Vinícius’s state because he always works well and gives everything he can. It’s just a matter of time before he reaches his best version. That said, I’m happy with what he’s doing. I can’t expect to have players at their best all the time. When they’re not, the important thing is that they give everything they can," he added.

Ancelotti dismissed the idea that a multimillion-dollar offer from Saudi Arabia might be the cause of Vinícius’s reduced performance.

"I don’t know if such an offer has arrived or not; I speak with him daily, but we’ve never talked about this topic. I think Vinícius loves playing football so much that anything that might happen outside won’t change his focus on what he has to do, which is to play football," he defended.

Finally, he addressed criticism directed at Vinícius for his performances with the national team, suggesting that the issue lies more with Brazil’s overall situation than with the player himself.

"The explanation is that Brazil’s problem is not individual; it’s general. The team is struggling to find its best version. It’s not a problem that Vinícius plays well for Madrid but poorly for Brazil, which is why his national team isn’t performing well," Ancelotti explained.

"It’s a general problem because we are very happy with him. Some may think, and we can agree, that he’s not at his best right now, but no one, including me, can forget that Vinícius has helped us win two Champions League titles. If he’s not at his best, we need to give him a lot of support here at Real Madrid," he concluded.