With a bold gesture, Vinicius Junior provoked FC Barcelona fans during El Clásico-Joao Cancelo made football history

The gesture is a reminder of Real Madrid's 15 European Cups, a tally Barcelona remains far from matching.

This is not the first time Vinicius Junior has courted controversy with such a gesture. In the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 at Manchester City, he also riled supporters after converting a 22nd-minute penalty.

He then celebrated by grinning at the corner flag, before rubbing his clenched fists in front of his face and making a "crying" gesture towards the City supporters, then turning away laughing.

The gesture had clear precedents. Vinicius was referring to the jeering he endured from Manchester City fans during Real Madrid's February 2025 away fixture. That night, a huge banner appeared in the home end: City midfielder Rodri kissing his Ballon d'Or, with the words "Stop Crying Your Heart Out"—a dig at Vinicius that riffed on an Oasis lyric.

Vinicius had complained bitterly after losing out to Rodri at the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony, and his club even cancelled their attendance at the event in Paris when it became clear that the left-winger would finish behind the Spaniard.

El Clásico also highlighted two other remarkable stories. Barcelona's João Cancelo became the first player to win a league title in four of Europe's top five leagues.

In 2020/21 he claimed the Scudetto with Juventus, the following season he won the Premier League with Manchester City, and twelve months later he lifted the Bundesliga trophy with Bayern Munich.

However, Cancelo cannot match Robert Lewandowski's trophy haul. The Pole, who may be leaving Barça, has now won his 13th title in Europe's top five leagues: two with BVB, eight with Bayern and three with the Catalans.

That tally places Lewandowski in an elite club: only Ryan Giggs, Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller have matched it.

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