There have been many episodes in which Arturo Vidal has been at the center of controversy. He featured in El Clásico matches with Real Madrid for Barcelona, but he also faced Los Blancos during his time with Bayern Munich.
The Chilean played for the German club from 2015 to 2018, during which they were eliminated by Real Madrid twice in the Champions League. In the podcast “Show en el Fútbol” he was asked if he felt robbed every time they faced Real Madrid.
Vidal jokingly said: “Yes. They eliminated me two times. In the semifinal and in the quarterfinals with Bayern Munich. That’s why they invented VAR then. Because it was already too much.”
The background for those eliminations by Real Madrid
It is common for players to feel referees do not favor them when they lose, but the ties Vidal mentioned are widely remembered. The matches took place in the 2017-2018 semifinals and the quarterfinals the year before.
In the semifinals the tie opened with a Real Madrid 2-1 victory in Germany and finished with a 2-2 draw in Madrid, which sent the Spanish side to the final, where they went on to defeat Liverpool.
Particularly the 2016-2017 quarterfinals are remembered for Vidal’s controversial red card late in regulation and for two offside goals by Cristiano Ronaldo in extra time that sealed the series.
Vidal on Lionel Messi
Vidal spent three seasons at Barcelona while Lionel Messi was still at the club. During that time he saw the Argentine up close and experienced all his talent. Vidal said: “He’s an amazing player. He’s above everybody else. I was also surprised by Frank Ribery for his strength.”