All was not as it seemed.
Forget what you might have seen earlier. Richarlison and Vinicius Junior weren’t involved in a ‘fight’ at training after all, despite what widely circulated pictures from the Brazil camp appeared to show.
The Selecao are preparing to face Japan in a friendly on Monday in a game which marks 20 years since Ronaldo and co. won the World Cup in Tokyo.
Ahead of the game, reports had claimed Richarlison and Vinicius had needed to be separated by teammates after trading blows in a ‘heated altercation’ during training, with a series of photos appearing to confirm as much.
Teammates Neymar and Lucas Pacqueta also appeared in the pictures, with the same reports claiming they were amongst those to step in and quell the violence.
Footage shows the pair were joking around.
Some, though, weren’t convinced all was as hostile as was being made out – as has now been proven to be the case.
If a picture speaks a thousand words, then a video, even a low-quality one such as the one that follows, speaks a hell of a lot more.
The footage below shows those involved were clearly messing around, with both players clearly seen smiling at different points.
https://twitter.com/EIIisV3/status/1533488327676108801
Added to this, Richarlison also shared a photo of the same incident to his Instagram. The picture, taken from a slightly different angle, was accompanied with a laughing face emoji.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CeYy0uFv_LB/?hl=en
The Everton forward scored Brazil’s first goal in their 5-1 win over South Korea in Seoul on Thursday.
Vinicius, days on from scoring Real Madrid’s winner in the Champions League final, came on as a substitute in the game.
Related links:
- Richarlison and Vinicius ‘separated by Brazil teammates after training fight’.
- Jamie Carragher criticises Richarlison for ‘pretending to be hurt’ in games.
- PSG willing to let Neymar leave if they receive the ‘right offer’.
