Despite a below-par Brazil debut for Vinicius Junior, his Real Madrid teammate, Casemiro, wants him to start thinking big. He, in fact, stated that he should be aiming to win big awards like Ballon d’Or and other major prizes and not be satisfied after making his Brazil debut.
Notably, Vinicius featured for the first time in Brazilian colours in his team’s 1-0 defeat to Peru. This was Brazil’s first defeat after the FIFA World Cup 2018.
“Vinicius has a very good head and, in the past year, he has surprised many people with the football he played,” the midfielder told reporters.
“It is not normal for a 19-year-old boy to do what he did with the Real Madrid shirt. I told him the other day that this year is a year that he has to start thinking big.
“I repeat: what he did last year was not normal. He surprised everyone and showed that he is ready to be a starter at Real Madrid.
“When you are a starting Real Madrid player, you have to think big. Think of the Ballon d’Or, FIFA’s World XI. He is a great player and he has already proven it.
“Of course, he is very young, you cannot put too much pressure and weight on his back. But I think he has to start thinking big.
“It is very important for us that he is here with the national team, but we have to be calm; two years ago he was playing in the Flamengo youth team,” he added.