Vinicius Jr: “Ronaldo and Ronaldinho tell me every day that I have to win the Ballon d’Or”

Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr spoke to CNN in an exclusive interview where they talked about the new season, his partnership with Kylian Mbappe, his ambitions to win the Ballon d’Or and much more. Speaking about the latter and the effect some of the former Brazil legends have on him, Vinicius said: “I have Kaká as an example, I have Ronaldo who won the award twice, I have Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, a lot of Brazilian players who have won the Ballon d’Or. But without a doubt, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are the ones I’m closest with, who tell me every day that I have to win the Ballon d’Or.”

Vinicius Jr on the feeling of being a Real Madrid player

“I’ve always dreamed of playing for Real Madrid, so I cherish every moment like it was the last. Everyone wants to win for the best team on the planet, and to be able to play with the best and to be able to score so many goals in so many finals and to be able to help so much… I’m only 24 years old and I want to continue like this for much longer and to create history in this great team I play in today. Not everyone has that chance to do that, so I talk about enjoying every moment in this jersey.”

Vinicius Jr on winning the treble

“The Copa del Rey always throws us off from winning the treble because you play against very tough teams throughout January, which is the period when there are the most games, so the cup competition ends up complicating things a bit. The Champions League comes first, which is the most difficult competition — followed by La Liga and then the Copa. Each one has its own pressure — the weight of the Champions League is because it’s where Real Madrid always wants to win. And not only the players, the fans as well demand that of us, to win that competition, but our goal now is to try and win everything we enter and finally be able to win the treble.”

Vinicius Jr on training with Ronaldo Nazario

“I was with Ronaldo just now when I was in Ibiza and trained at his house and he told me: ‘Train here a few more days, so you are closer to the Ballon d’Or.’ They are players who did incredible things and to be able to compete for the Ballon d’Or and to win an award that they won, that would be something really incredible.”

Vinicius Jr on his future at the club

“I always play to be among the best and, each day that passes at Real Madrid, I feel more confident. I’ve already won two Champions Leagues and I play with others who already won six – Carvajal also has won six and they motivate us each day to play beyond our limits and that everything is possible with the team we have now. We already made it this far, it was really hard. But to stay at the highest level, it’s much harder, so I want to stay at this level for a long time and be able to win as many Champions League as Carvajal, Modrić, Nacho and Toni Kroos, who won six. We might have one of the best teams for the next decade, and now, we have to show on the pitch that we can perform. And I, along with my teammates, each time, each game we play, we can get closer to winning Real Madrid more titles.”

Vinicius Jr on the new-look team that Real Madrid have

“The team is very good and has been that way for a long time now. Now with the arrival of Mbappé, everyone says the team can become unstoppable, but for now, we have to perform the best training sessions and try to understand each other as quickly as possible.”

Vinicius Jr on Mbappé’s style of play

“I love Mbappé’s style, I love how he plays, and the truth is that I’m very excited about what we can do during the season. He’s coming in after having scored so many goals, after winning so many titles. He’s arriving at the club he always dreamed to be in and where every player always dreamed to play for: Real Madrid. God willing, Mbappé will be able to score as many goals for us as he did in his previous team, as he does in the national team, and that he can do even more together with us.”

Vinicius Jr on Marta

“I have to talk about Marta, who is the greatest to ever play the [women’s game]. I have great affection for her because I believe she changed the sport and put women’s football on the level it deserves. Women’s football is growing day by day and Marta was one of the pioneers. Marta for us is what Pelé was for everyone in Brazil, like Ayrton Senna, she’s from a level where there is one person in every million.”