Vini and Mbappé foot the bill as Madrid stars plot Champions League assault over team dinner
Real Madrid players show unity ahead of crucial Champions League and La Liga run-in with a team dinner organized by Vinicius and Mbappé at exclusive Madrid hotspot.
Madrid’s star-studded squad gathered for a special team dinner this week, with Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappé playing hosts at one of the capital’s most exclusive venues. The Brazilian winger revealed the meet-up by posting a snap of all 24 players on his social media.
Squad unity on display
The dinner, organized without any coaching staff present, comes at a crucial point in Madrid’s season. With the Champions League round of 16 clash against Benfica just a week away and the team riding a seven-match winning streak in La Liga, the players clearly fancied a proper chinwag away from Valdebebas to strengthen squad bonds.
Even the injured trio of Militão, Rodrygo and Bellingham joined their teammates for the evening, highlighting the full-squad commitment to the cause. Nothing like breaking bread together when you’re preparing for the business end of the season, is there?
Trendy venue with celebrity connections
The gathering took place at ‘61’, a fashionable restaurant-club that only opened its doors in December but has quickly become a hotspot for Madrid’s elite. As it happens, both Vinicius and Mbappé are part-owners of the establishment, which explains why they picked up the tab for their teammates. Proper diamond geezers, those two.
The venue on José Abascal street has already welcomed various celebrities including actors Arón Piper and Ester Expósito, international singer Ozuna, and MMA fighter Ilia Topuria.
Staggered departures into the early hours
Curious onlookers gathered outside as players began leaving from around 11pm, with goalkeeper Lunin among the first to call it a night alongside Rüdiger, Güler, and Mendy.
The departures continued in waves throughout the evening:
- Valverde and Militão left around 11:30pm
- Youngsters including Mastantuono and Brahim departed just before midnight
- Camavinga headed home shortly after 1am
- Vinicius left at 1:26am, followed by Mbappé at 1:32am
- The English duo of Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold stuck around until nearly 2am
The last man standing was Asencio, who finally departed at 2:50am, almost an hour after Ceballos.
Despite the late night, the squad was scheduled to return to training at Valdebebas at 11am the following morning. Let’s hope the coffee machine was working overtime!