Thierry Henry has expressed fury at Jose Mourinho over his reaction to an alleged racist incident involving Vinicius Jr, as the winger emerges as a surprise transfer target for Arsenal.
The Incident
The controversy dates back to February 2026, when Real Madrid faced Benfica in the Champions League knockout play-offs. Vinicius scored the only goal and then accused Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni of racist abuse. Prestianni, later banned for the incident, covered his mouth with his shirt while speaking to Vinicius. The game was paused for 10 minutes, and Vinicius was booed by the home crowd upon resumption.
Mourinho, then managing Benfica, downplayed the incident. He suggested Vinicius should have celebrated his goal more respectfully and said he did not believe either player because each gave him a different account.
Henry's Reaction
Speaking on CBS, Henry did not hold back. He said: "I can relate to what Vinicius is going through. That happened to me so many times on the pitch. I talked about it so many times after games. I’ve also been accused of looking for excuses after games when that happened to me. At times, you feel lonely, because it’s going to be your word against his word."
Henry criticized Prestianni for covering his mouth, saying: "We don’t know what Prestianni has said, because he was very courageous by putting his shirt over his mouth to make sure that we weren’t going to see what he said. So clearly, already, you look suspicious. Because you didn’t want people to see or read what you said. Then, the reaction of Vinicius is telling me that something not right happened."
He also targeted Mourinho: "I wanted to know what his player said. He deflected the subject for us to talk about something else. He’s very good at that. The game didn’t stop because of the celebration, the game stopped because of what Prestianni apparently said."
Arsenal Links
Vinicius, 26, has entered the final 12 months of his contract at Real Madrid, sparking reports of interest from Arsenal. Mikel Arteta is said to be keen on signing the Brazilian. Real Madrid have offered a new deal worth around £325,000 per week, more than Arsenal's top earner Bukayo Saka's £300,000 weekly wage. The club have also reappointed Mourinho to challenge Barcelona's dominance under Hansi Flick.
Henry's former side Arsenal could benefit if Vinicius remains unhappy with Mourinho's past handling of the incident. The winger's future remains uncertain as the transfer window progresses.
