Vinicius Jr has named the club he would leave Real Madrid for – and it may surprise you.
Vini Jr, 24, is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, which will be awarded on Monday, October 28, 2024, at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
The Brazilian bolstered his case to win the coveted prize with a second-half hat-trick in Real Madrid’s 5-2 Champions League win against Borussia Dortmund on October 22.
The winger has always shown promise but has performed on a more consistent basis in recent years.
Last season, he had an integral role in the double-winning success of Real Madrid with his goal in the Champions League final in the 2-0 win over Dortmund, taking his overall tally for the season to 24 goals in 39 games.
His impressive form has continued this season, having already netted eight times as well as providing seven assists in his 14 appearances.
Given his age, if he can stay injury-free, it would be safe to assume Vini Jr will stay at Madrid for the peak years of his career.
However, he made a surprising admission admitting that he would leave Los Blancos if a certain club came calling.
“I think I could stay here my whole career, but the club of my life is Flamengo,” he told L’Équipe in 2023.
“I love life here in general, and it’s going well for my family too. When my loved ones walk around, they are recognised and they wish us nothing but happiness.
“Little by little, I discovered this new life, new emotions, a fervour… Madrid is unique. Everyone around the world tells me about this club.
“And apart from that, I like it. I’m quite a homebody, but we do a lot of activities.”
Vini Jr came through the ranks at Flamengo before playing 69 times for their first team before making the switch to Madrid in 2018.
The Brazilian can write his name further into the Real Madrid history books with a good performance against Barcelona in Saturday’s ‘El Clasico’. He has already won every trophy available to him at club level, but success on the international stage still eludes him.