Leonardo grabbed his phone and called the player immediately after he heard about it.
He was surprised to hear that his 222m euro star sees this year's World Cup as his last one, but he doesn't know if he has.
The parties had renewed their contract a few months earlier. Leonardo had to check what his friend meant by his comments.
The comment was allegedly taken out of context, and the team rushed to clarify his concerns.
The number 10 talked about his retirement plans on a stream last month.
I joke with my friends that I will retire at 32. It is a joke. I don't know. He said that he would play until he was mentally tired.
Despite having only recently turned 30, the impression is that he may be past his best and not enjoying football as much as he once did.
They added more fuel to the fire for the Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain game.
With Vinicius Junior in the form of his life, having netted 16 goals this season - more than all his three first campaigns combined - there is a growing school of thought that he might be on the way to taking over from Neymar as Brazil's leading man in Europe.
It remains to be seen if Vinicius can surpass his idol. Vinicius will be able to help his side overturn the first leg deficit to advance to the quarter-finals.
Vinicius has hit another level this season, after being described by El Mundo newspaper as "a winger unable to make his legs and feet move in unison."
The boy who was the source of countless meme for his lack of final product has blossomed into one of the world's most exciting talents.
When he was 16 years old, Real spent 45m euros to sign him.
He has the chance to fulfill his destiny now that he is at the Madrid.
Vinicius is the one who finds himself in a better position to decide the game in Madrid, according to one of Brazil's leading pundits.
I have no doubt that Vinicius is the greatest Brazilian forward in Europe right now, even though it is unclear what will happen to them in the medium term. The season usually starts well for Neymar. He can do the opposite this time.
The quality remains despite the fact that Neymar has not scored in the league for over a year.
His main obstacle is to avoid the injuries which have marked his career so far - of the 255 matches the Parisians have played since his arrival, he featured in only 134 of them.
It does not help his case.
Vinicius stature in the game has changed over the last year, according to Leonardo Bertozzi, a football analyst.
The arrival of Ancelotti has had a big impact on him, he has earned his trust, is getting regular football and has formed a great attacking partnership with Benzema.
I don't believe we are quite there yet in the process of passing the baton because he still has some way to go.
No matter what he does, he cannot seem to please anyone. The relationship between him and the fans has reached a point where nothing can be done to change it.
If Real Madrid beats Paris Saint-Germain, it will strengthen the perception that we don't need Neymar because we have Vinicius, but it doesn't work like that.
We need both of them so we don't repeat the same mistakes we made with the previous generation. We got to the World Cup with two 22-year-olds, and they were the ones leading our attack because Ronaldinho, Adriano and Kaka didn't make it.
In Brazil, we prefer the ruptures. It doesn't have to be, it's Vinicius now. We can have both of them doing well in Europe.
This is a World Cup year and time is running out for Neymar to fulfill his full potential.
Vinicius has a long way to go.
Neymar has not yet achieved what many Brazilians believe is the mission of our football players, which is to be named the world's best and win big trophies.
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