Vinicius Jr. and Pablo Maffeo reignited their long-standing rivalry during Real Madrid’s fiery 3-0 victory over Mallorca in the Super Cup on Thursday. The pair, whose feud dates back to a heated La Liga clash during the 2021-22 season, quickly found themselves at odds once again at the Bernabeu.

The tension flared just ten minutes into the match when Maffeo’s aggressive man-marking prompted a reaction from Vinicius, who waved a hand at the defender’s chest. Maffeo went to ground theatrically, seemingly in an attempt to draw a foul.

Jude Bellingham, visibly irritated, confronted Maffeo over what he saw as simulation, while the Real Madrid substitutes bench voiced their frustration, urging referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea to act against the Mallorca defender.

Despite the early dramatics, Vinicius and Real Madrid maintained focus, with goals from Rodrygo, Bellingham, and Joselu securing a dominant win and advancing Los Blancos further in the competition. The fiery encounter added another chapter to the contentious history between Vinicius and Maffeo, further fueling the intrigue surrounding future clashes.

Vinicius Jr (pictured) told Mallorca’s Pablo Maffeo to ‘go back home’ in their Super Cup clash

The Real Madrid star told the defender he was ‘terrible’ as they reignited their feud in Saudi

Carlo Ancelotti was forced to pull up his player for his conduct in a bid to keep him on the pitch

De Burgos Bengoetxa instead spoke to both players before waving play on, but Vinicus is thought to have warned Maffeo over his behaviour in the first-half as the two teams made their way off for half-time.

Ancelotti’s son Davide – Real’s assistant coach – was allegedly quick to intervene, but couldn’t completely dissolve his player’s bad blood.

Shortly after Jude Bellingham’s 63rd-minute strike, Vinicius was captured on camera taunting Maffeo, telling him that he was ‘terrible’ in Spanish.

‘Go back home,’ he said repeatedly, before Ancelotti on the touchlines pulled up the Ballon d’Or nominee for his own conduct.

Vinicius was later subbed off in favour of Brahim Diaz, but it was not enough to keep the hosts from antagonising Maffeo after the final whistle, when Raul Ascencio was pulled back by Ancelotti in a bid to keep him from picking up a late booking.

Ahead of the tie, Maffeo had appeared keen to stoke the flames of controversy with an appearance on a podcast interview wherein he claimed that he would be confident facing off with the winger in a boxing ring.

‘It would be a spectacle of its own, but I think I’d knock him out in ten seconds,’ Maffeo told the host, via beIN sports.

However, for all of their competitive bluster, Maffeo is among those to have publicly thrown himself behind Vinicius’ ongoing fight against racist attitudes in Spanish football.

Maffeo was the victim of Madrid’s ire after going down for a soft challenge from Vinicius Jr

The player fanned the flames of controversy before the match when he suggested that he could knock Vinicius Jr out in ’10 seconds’ – claiming it would be a ‘spectacle of its own’

The Real Madrid star has frequently been targeted by racist gestures and chanting away from the Bernabeu, and been an outspoken critic of what he believes is inherent racism in the Spanish game.

While Maffeo did not go as far as agreeing on the latter point, he said that the player has been ‘doing the right thing by speaking out.

‘These attitudes (that Vinicius is subjected to) must be condemned because they affect everything.’

Victory in the Supercopa semi-final in Riyadh has set up another El Clasico meeting between Real Madrid and their loathed rivals Barcelona after Hansi Flick’s side beat Athletic Club 2-0 on Wednesday evening.

The clash will be played out in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.