Real Betis captain Joaquin has apologised to Real Madrid teenager Vinicius Junior after comments made during their recent meeting.
TV cameras picked up 38-year-old Joaquin saying ‘this is very bad’ after Vinicius spurned a golden opportunity to gives Los Blancos the lead during their league meeting, which finished scoreless.
The 19-year-old had enjoyed an excellent debut campaign in the Spanish capital, with four goals in 19 starts in all competitions in 2018-19.
However, this season Vinicius has found things a little tougher and has been selected in Zinedine Zidane’s starting XI just four times this campaign, with a further six appearances as a substitute.
“It was a comment that I said when it shouldn't have,” Joaquin told Canal Sur Radio, as cited by Diario de Sevilla.
“It's not that he's a bad player, because he wouldn't be at Real Madrid if he was and there is nobody less reliable in front of goal than I am!
“Honestly I feel so bad that I want to publicly apologise because he's just a 19-year-old, and you know I’m not like that.
“He is a phenomenon and has a bright future, and I did not say it with any other intentions.”
