Julen Guerrero's Challenge to Vinicius Jr: Rediscover Your Hunger

Julen Guerrero has delivered a blunt message to Vinicius Jr: find the hunger again or risk slipping away from the level that once terrified La Liga defences.

The Athletic Bilbao icon sees a very different player to the one who tore through backlines at his peak for Real Madrid. The numbers are down, the spark feels dulled, and Guerrero believes the issue runs deeper than a few missed chances.

“Vinicius doesn't seem to have the same ambition and desire as before, the drive to attack, to take on defenders, to do all the things he does so well,” he said, speaking to Defensa Central. “He seems more complacent and is making a lot of mistakes. He needs to rediscover the joy of wanting to be number 1, as he has wanted to be for so long.

“Right now, he's far from his best form.”

The Brazilian’s start to the 2026/27 campaign has been uneven. There are still those trademark bursts, the odd electric dribble that jolts the Bernabéu awake, but the constant menace that once defined him has faded. The winger who used to live in one-on-one duels now looks, in Guerrero’s eyes, like a player searching for himself.

Mbappé not the answer on the left

When a superstar dips, the reflex is to look at the bench or elsewhere in the squad. At Madrid, that spotlight inevitably lands on Kylian Mbappé. Guerrero, though, does not see the Frenchman as the solution to Vinicius’ troubles on the left flank.

“I don't see Mbappé on the left. I think Mourinho wants to get Vinicius back to his defensive role, and I don't think Mbappé is suited for that,” he argued.

Mbappé, Guerrero insists, lives for goals, not for tracking back.

“He's focused on goals, on being up front, and resting when he doesn't have the ball. That's why Mourinho doesn't see him playing alongside Espi.

“I see him more as an attacking midfielder with freedom, with Espí pinning the centre-backs, than on the left. In his mind, he wants to stay up front. In any case, that position belongs to Bellingham.”

So the message is clear: the left wing is still Vinicius’ territory. Mourinho, in Guerrero’s view, will back his Brazilian forward and demand that he reconnects with the intensity and work rate that once made him untouchable.

Madrid’s bad habit of switching off

Guerrero’s criticism did not stop with Vinicius. He widened the lens to Real Madrid as a whole, pointing to their chaotic 3-2 win over Elche as a warning sign.

Madrid led by two and looked comfortable. Then they drifted. The control vanished, Elche grew, and a routine victory turned into a scramble that only Carlos Espí resolved in stoppage time.

“What's most concerning is their switching off,” Guerrero said. “The first half was comfortable, without playing excellent football, but with everything under control.

“They didn't press high, nor did they seem to have tremendous ambition. Elche combined quite comfortably, but Madrid has much more firepower.”

The message is as stark for the team as it is for Vinicius: Real Madrid cannot afford to cruise, not in games, not in seasons, not with the standards they set for themselves.

For Vinicius, that standard once meant playing like a man obsessed with being the best. Guerrero’s challenge cuts right to the core: does that obsession still burn as fiercely as before?