The heated rivalry between Manchester City and Real Madrid in the Champions League delivered more than just drama on the pitch this season. The pre-match atmosphere during the first leg at the Etihad Stadium stirred controversy, thanks to a giant banner targeting the Spanish club and one of its main stars, Vinicius.
Yet, when the dust settled after the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, it was the Brazilian who had the last laugh—responding to City’s fans with a simple yet savage one-word message. But what did the Brazilian star say?
Before the first leg kicked off in Manchester, City fans unveiled a massive tifo that immediately caught attention. Featuring Rodri kissing the Ballon d’Or trophy, the banner was emblazoned with the words ‘Stop crying your heart out’—a nod to the iconic Oasis song. The message was widely interpreted as a dig at Real Madrid’s reaction to Vinicius missing out on the award, with the club boycotting the Ballon d’Or ceremony in October after learning that their star forward would not be crowned the winner.
Despite the widespread belief that the banner targeted Vinicius directly, the Manchester City fan group ‘We Are 1894’ later denied this. They issued a statement to clarify their intentions, referring to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez’s vocal criticism of the Ballon d’Or voting process.
However, whether the banner was aimed at Perez or not, the Brazilian star certainly took it to heart. He later admitted that the message only fueled his determination—and his performance in the first leg proved it. Vinicius recorded two assists in Real Madrid’s 3-2 victory, helping his team gain the upper hand heading into the return leg in Spain.
Vinicius’ response: Short, sweet, and savage
With the second leg taking place at the Bernabeu, anticipation was high. Once again, some City fans tried to taunt Vinicius, this time with a smaller version of the Rodri banner. Yet, their efforts went largely unnoticed—especially after Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick effectively sealed Real Madrid’s 6-3 aggregate win. A portion of the Sky Blues’ traveling support even left the stadium in the 64th minute, unable to watch the rest of their team’s collapse.
Okay okay okay!!!!!!! 😭
But it was after the final whistle that Vinicius delivered his knockout blow. Taking to social media, the 24-year-old posted a simple message: “Okay okay okay!!!!!!!”—accompanied by a crying face emoji. The timing and context left little doubt for the Spanish media that this was a direct reference to City’s banner and the Oasis-inspired taunt. The post quickly went viral, with fans across social media hailing his cheeky comeback.
