Vinícius Júnior is the latest superstar to speak out against soccer's expanded match calendar.
Real Madrid confirmed Vinícius Júnior suffered an injury to the biceps femoris in his left leg against Leganes, relegating the winger to the sidelines for up to four weeks. The injury comes after Vinícius Júnior played 270 minutes in 11 days for club and country.
The Brazilian took to social media to express his frustration with both the injury and the current schedule.
"The crazy calendar," Vinícius Júnior posted on X. "Time to recover."
Real Madrid has already played 18 matches in the 2024–25 season across all competitions, and Vinícius Júnior appeared in every single one. The 24-year-old also logged 90 minutes in four of Brazil's six CONMEBOL 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches over the last three months. Had he not missed the October international break due to injury, the winger would have already featured in 24 matches from August to November.
The Ballon d'Or runner-up is just one of many players missing significant time due to injury. Fellow Real Madrid teammates Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão are out for the season with ACL injuries. Rodrygo and Aurélien Tchouaméni are also sidelined. In fact, this season alone, only seven players in Real Madrid's squad have avoided injury.






