Vinicius talks Rodrygo, Mbappe, Ronaldo, Ballon d’Or, Real Madrid future – ‘The next step is…’

Vinicius Jr. was one of the stars on the night for Real Madrid as they defeated RB Salzburg 5-1 in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

The Brazilian, returning to the team after missing the weekend La Liga clash vs. Las Palmas due to suspension, finished with two goals and walked away with the MVP award.

Following the match, Vinicius interacted with TNT Sports Brazil (h/t Mundo Deportivo), during which he discussed his immediate future at Real Madrid amidst interest from Saudi Arabia as well as his teammates Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappe.

On his future

Vinicius is attracting serious interest from Saudi Arabia, with Al Ahli reportedly ready to make a world-record €350 million bid for the Brazilian megastar.

When asked what his immediate future looks like amidst the strong interest from the Middle East, he replied:

“The next step is always to have a clear mind, to improve my game, to keep developing, and to help the biggest club in the world, because I dreamed of coming here and being able to play with great players in such a brilliant season.”

Continuing, he added: “I think that’s my dream now, to think big and be able to win more titles with this shirt.”

On the Ballon d’Or and his teammates

The 2024 Ballon d’Or race saw Vinicius fall short of Manchester City midfielder Rodri despite the Real Madrid winger being seen as the overwhelming favourite to win the prestigious honour.

When asked about missing out on the prize, the winger said:

“I always say that my biggest goal is to help my team, to be able to score goals, make assists, be at my best level, because if I’m like that I can help all my teammates and take Madrid to the highest level, which is always my biggest goal.

“Individual awards are of course important, but… We can’t talk so much, it’s not the vote that people expected, but we have to keep going… Rodrygo, Kylian, Jude, to do great things.”

Talking about his equation with his teammates Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius noted:

“We are the three forwards, we have the obligation to score goals, give assists, and the truth is that we’re really happy with Kylian.

“The beginnings are always tough, but he has adapted well, and Kylian is such a great player that even while adapting, he’s scored a lot of goals.

“Rodrygo and I are going to do everything we can to make him the top-scorer in all competitions, because he came here for that.”

Vinicius also paid respect to Real Madrid and Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazario after going past him and scoring 100 goals for the club.

“He helped me a lot to score many goals because he gave me lots of advice. I think he’ll be very happy that I was able to surpass him. I have the utmost respect for him,” said the winger.