Vinicius: “Zidane tells me not to listen to what other people say about me”

Real Madrid wonder kid Vinicius Junior completed a very successful debut season in the Spanish capital and will be expected to be a relevant player next year, no matter his age and raw potential. The attacker talked to Jornal Extra about his experience in Spain at such a young age and his future in the club.

“Zidane talks to me a lot and tells me to keep working because I’m very young. He also tells me not to listen to what other people say about me, to just pay attention to the coaching staff and mi family because I am going to improve,” says Vinicius.

“My life changed a lot, everyone wanted to be by my side and also close to my family, it was a big change,” he added.

“I left Flamengo because I thought it was the right time to do it. I had little room for improvement there, two months in Madrid are better than one full year in Brazil, the training sessions are different, nobody wants to lose and there are players like Ramos or Benzema who are older than 30 years old but work harder than every single player. You also improve by being close to the best players of the world,” explained Vinicius, who also talked about Ramos’ leadership.

“He’s a true leader, he knows when it’s the right time to talk to you and help you. Ramos, Marcelo, Varane, Modric... all of them support their teammates a lot,” concluded Vinicius.

The Brazilian winger will have to compete hard for a starting spot after the arrival of Eden Hazard to the club. However, his potential and future is definitely encouraging and Zidane will have to find him minutes.