Vinicius Junior has switched his stance on who the greatest player of all time is.
The Brazilian is among the favourites to claim the Ballon d’Or at a ceremony in Paris on October 28, after a year that has seen him inspire his side to La Liga and Champions League glory.
Indeed, Vinicius has continued his form into this season, having netted a sensational hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday to help Los Blancos come from 2-0 down to win 5-2.
While Vinicius is widely thought of as the best player in the world at present, the player’s stance on the greatest player of all time is less clear.
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Back in 2017, a young Vinicius was asked by Flamengo’s social media account to choose between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the best player in the world at that time.
The teenage superstar responded: ““Messi or Cristiano? … Messi, Messi.”
At the time the winger was rumoured to be on Barcelona’s radar, where he would be potentially teaming up with Messi.
For years the comments remained untouched, sparking much reaction online.
In 2023, however, Vinicius appeared to change his tune in the Messi and Ronaldo debate, after posting a photo on his social media alongside the Portuguese superstar.
Vinicius shared the image alongside the goat emoji, a nod to Ronaldo’s status as the GOAT, an acronym for the greatest of all time.
Ronaldo and Messi have dominated the football world over the past two decades, with the former having claimed five Ballon d’Or trophies and the latter notching a record eight, including last year’s crown.
For the first time since 2003, however, neither of the stars were selected on this year’s shortlist.
Vinicius and Manchester City’s Rodri are, at present, the two favourites to win the award.