Rayo Vallecano star names Real Madrid forward as his ‘weakness’ ahead of La Liga faceoff | OneFootball

Real Madrid will lock horns with Rayo Vallecano later today at the Santiago Bernabeu in Matchweek 27 of La Liga.

It is a crucial fixture for both matches as Real Madrid hope to cut the gap to league leaders Barcelona while Rayo Vallecano are pushing to break into the top six and secure a European football spot for next season.

Ahead of the important game today evening, Rayo Vallecano right-back Andrei Ratiu sat down for an interview with AS, discussing his past performances against Vinicius Jr. and his admiration for Rodrygo Goes.

Ratiu talks Vinicius, Rodrygo, Real Madrid

Ratiu made his La Liga debut with Rayo Vallecano in November 2023 at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid and delivered a top performance against Vinicius, helping his team walk away with a 0-0 draw.

Reminscing his debut, the Romanian international said: “I wanted to play so badly that I wasn’t going to give up. That week Balliu suffered a blow to his knee and I started to get into the right frame of mind.”

Ratiu made his La Liga debut vs Real Madrid in 2023. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Following his performance, a video of him saying ‘Vini can’t catch me’ went viral on social media. Talking about that, Ratiu remarked:

“The next day all my friends passed it on to me. It was a bit of a meme (laughs). My mates were teasing me and I repeated their words. That’s when they caught me.

“They’re a bit of b**t**ds (laughs). It was a joke, no disrespect. In the end, we exchanged shirts. I didn’t get the feeling that he was looking down on me.”

When asked who catches his eye the most at Real Madrid, Ratiu chose Vinicius’ compatriot Rodrygo Goes, saying:

“My weakness is Rodrygo. If I could leave one out, it would be him.”

On what it means for him to return to play at the Santiago Bernabeu again, Ratiu replied: “It’s what every footballer dreams of. I’m happy to be in the elite for another year.”

When asked if Rayo Vallecano can give a fight to Real Madrid today, he stated: “We’re going with the idea of being ourselves. We have to play an almost perfect game because they are very good at the moment.”