Benfica: Vinicius affair, Gianluca Prestianni finally speaks his truth

Europe 01 April 2026 at 15:29

Joshua SOSSOU

News Editor

In an interview with Telefe, Gianluca Prestianni spoke out for the first time about the situation involving Vinícius Jr. The incident occurred during the Champions League round of 16 in Portugal.

The Argentine player continues to deny having directed any racist insult at the Brazilian. This, despite numerous threats from both sides, especially from Real Madrid. "What hurt me was being accused of something I never did. That’s what hurt me the most. But thankfully, I’m very calm because everyone who knows me knows what kind of person I am, and that’s enough for me. I’m very grateful to the club (Benfica), who believed in me and supported me throughout this ordeal. The club and my teammates have shown their support internally, and that means much more to me than posting a story on Instagram," he declared.

He also took the time to respond to accusations from certain individuals who claimed in the media to have heard racist insults from him: "For us Argentinians, it’s a normal insult used in the game. They accuse someone of being racist when I never have been and never will be. It’s like they insult you just to throw you off your game. I never wanted to react, and I never will. On the contrary, the idea is to show it on the pitch, through playing. I was thinking of my father, my mother, my grandparents... I heard so many things said about me that just aren’t true and never happened. It’s ugly and it really hurts, especially for them. I’m used to it—I'm a player, people will always talk—but they aren’t used to it. During the match, my father was there and he felt terrible. I didn’t like hearing those things said about me."