Vinicius Jr saw his Brazil press conference at the World Cup interrupted by a cat on Wednesday, who was disturbingly manhandled by a Brazilian official.
Vinicius Jr burst into laughter as a cat randomly appeared as he was answering a journalist’s question ahead of Brazil’s quarter-final against Croatia on Friday.
The cat then approached an unnamed official – wearing a Brazil polo shirt – who was sat next to the Real Madrid winger.
The official appeared to give the cat some head scratches before standing up and grabbing it – and then threw the animal off the table – with the press conference gasping in unison at what they had witnessed.
The cat appeared to be unharmed, though, as the Brazil official sat back down and told the room ‘You’re welcome’ before shrugging.
Vinicius Jr laughed it off as reporters could be heard talking amongst themselves before his press conference continued.
The 22-year-old has been a star player at Real Madrid since he joined the Spanish club back in 2018 – helping them win two La Liga titles and the Champions League as well as the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
Following the cat incident, Vinicius Jr was quizzed about his club manager Carlo Ancelotti and the impact he has had on his career.
‘I talked with Ancelotti and he gave me a lot of advice to help me become a starter with Brazil,’ he said.
‘He gave me a lot of confidence. He was always tough with me when he needed to be. He is like a father to me.
‘He is good not only with the technical aspects of the game, but also with how he deals with his players.
‘I have been improving a lot and Ancelotti has helped me with that. He and (Brazil coach) Tite are very similar and they talk to each other a lot.’
MORE : Tite defends Brazil celebrations after Roy Keane dubs them ‘disrespectful’
MORE : West Ham footballer Kurt Zouma banned from keeping animals for five years after kicking and slapping pet cat
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