‘He called Vinícius a monkey’

Real Madrid forward, Kylian Mbappe has opened up about the alleged racist remark directed at his teammate Vinicius Jnr by Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni.

The match between Benfica and Real Madrid at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, was halted for 10 minutes after Vinicius reported alleged racist abuse by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni to referee Francois Letexier, and he and his team-mates temporarily left the field.

Speaking after the game, Kylian Mbappe who was Vinicius’ striking partner and closer to the incident told CBS that he heard Gianluca Prestianni calling the Brazilian Monkey five times.

“Player number 25 from Benfica, i don’t want to say his name because he doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League. He was speaking badly and then put his shirt around his mouth to call Vini a Monkey 5 times.”

“I heard it and the Benfica players around also heard it too and after that everything you saw happened,” Kylian Mbappe said.

Mbappe also called on UEFA to ban the Argentina winger Prestianni from the Champions League.

“Nothing like this has ever happened to me, and in these kinds of important matters, it’s important to speak very clearly and not to speak in generalities.”

“I have the utmost respect for Benfica and their coach, who is one of the best in history and who made history with Real Madrid. But, in my opinion, this player doesn’t deserve to play in the Champions League anymore,” he said.

JE