Julen Guerrero's Warning to Vinicius Jr.: Rediscovering His Edge

Julen Guerrero has delivered a sharp warning to Vinicius Jr., insisting the Real Madrid star must rediscover the edge that once made him one of Europe’s most terrifying wide forwards.

The Brazilian has stumbled through the opening weeks of the 2026/27 campaign, his impact a shadow of the explosive levels he hit at his peak. The dribbles are still there in moments, the flashes of electricity too, but the sustained menace that used to unsettle entire backlines has faded.

Guerrero, an icon at Athletic Bilbao and a respected voice in Spanish football, believes the problem runs deeper than a few missed chances.

“Vinicius doesn't seem to have the same ambition and desire as before, the drive to attack, to take on defenders, to do all the things he does so well,” he said, speaking to Defensa Central. “He seems more complacent and is making a lot of mistakes. He needs to rediscover the joy of wanting to be number 1, as he has wanted to be for so long.

“Right now, he's far from his best form.”

Those words cut to the heart of the debate around Vinicius. His numbers have dipped, but Guerrero is more concerned by the body language, the risk-taking, the hunger that once defined him every time he received the ball wide on the left.

Mbappé not the answer on the left

Even with Vinicius misfiring, Guerrero does not see Kylian Mbappé as the man to take over that flank.

Guerrero expects Jose Mourinho to keep backing the Brazilian, not only out of faith in his talent but because he views Mbappé as ill-suited to the defensive and positional demands of that role.

“I don't see Mbappe on the left. I think Mourinho wants to get Vinicius back to his defensive role, and I don't think Mbappé is suited for that,” Guerrero explained.

“He’s focused on goals, on being up front, and resting when he doesn't have the ball. That's why Mourinho doesn't see him playing alongside Espi.

“I see him more as an attacking midfielder with freedom, with Espí pinning the centre-backs, than on the left. In his mind, he wants to stay up front. In any case, that position belongs to Bellingham.”

It’s a clear tactical picture: Vinicius as the hard-running wide outlet, Mbappé given licence between the lines or up top, Jude Bellingham already entrenched as the main reference in that advanced central role. For Guerrero, reshuffling the left wing to accommodate Mbappé would only create new problems without solving the old one.

Vinicius, then, is still the man for that side. He just has to play like it.

Madrid’s bigger problem: switching off

Guerrero’s criticism didn’t stop at individuals. He turned his attention to Real Madrid’s collective lapses after their chaotic 3-2 win over Elche, a match that laid bare the team’s tendency to drift out of games.

Madrid cruised into a two-goal lead and looked set for a routine victory. Then the lights dimmed. Elche fought back, levelled, and only a stoppage-time strike from Carlos Espí spared Mourinho’s side from embarrassment.

“What's most concerning is their switching off,” Guerrero said. “The first half was comfortable, without playing excellent football, but with everything under control.

“They didn't press high, nor did they seem to have tremendous ambition. Elche combined quite comfortably, but Madrid has much more firepower.”

That’s the core of his warning. Madrid have the talent, the depth, the attacking weapons. What they cannot afford is complacency — from the collective or from a player as important as Vinicius.

The message is blunt. The shirt is still his. The left flank is still his. But the hunger that once made him untouchable has to be his again, too.