Vinicius Makes Huge Claim About Barcelona Defender: “Best I Have Ever Faced”
Speaking after Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg, Vinicius Jr reserved some praise for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, claiming that the Uruguayan was the best defender he had ever faced.
Araujo and Vinicius have been constantly dueling over the past year or so, with Barcelona boss Xavi often deploying the centre-half as a right-back El Clasico encounters to tackle the threat of the Brazilian superstar.
The move had worked a treat for Barcelona as Araujo had been successful in tying down Vinicius for most of the games that they butted heads in, although the latter had the last laugh in the pair’s most recent clash last week in Copa del Rey.
It has previously been reported that there is a great deal of mutual respect between the two, and Vinicius showcased that when he brought up Araujo and said (h/t SPORT):
“The best defender I have ever faced is Araujo. He’s very strong and very good. That’s why he plays for Barça.”
Araujo, too, has not been shy of praising Vinicius in the past, having called him the best player in the world when it comes to one-on-one situations.
“For me today, Vinicius is number one in one-on-one. He is a very good player, very unbalancing. It’s difficult, obviously. But he worked to be able to give his best in matches like this. I’m glad things are going well,” he had said.
However, the Uruguayan had urged the Brazilian forward to focus more on football than his antics on the field after the latest Clasico meeting when things got heated between the pair.
“Vinicius needs to focus on playing football. I always try to respect my opponents, but I got a little heated tonight. Vinicius spent the whole match telling our players this and that… He kept saying things to the crowd, and it got heated,” Araujo had stated.
