Zinedine Zidane told Vinicius Junior to follow in the footsteps of two players at Real Madrid to help him to achieve success
The Brazilian has enjoyed the finest 12 months of his professional career to date, winning La Liga and the Champions League last season while producing a player of the match performance in the latter's final against Borussia Dortmund.
But the 24-year-old narrowly missed out on winning the 2024 Ballon d'Or, with Manchester City's Rodri receiving more votes.
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The result, which was leaked hours before the official announcement, left Real furious and the club announced that they would be boycotting the ceremony due to feeling 'disrespected' by Ballon d'Or organisers.
That meant manager Carlo Ancelotti was not present to collect his award for being named Men's Coach of the Year, while no players attended the ceremony either.
Most of Vinicius' team-mates took to social media to defend him and call out France Football over the win - meaning there were few congratulatory words from their side towards winner Rodri.
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Back in 2019 - when he was 19 and in the midst of his first season in Spain - Vinicius revealed what advice Zidane had given him in order for him to become one of the best players in world football.
He said: "Zidane always tells me to be calm and keep growing because if I do that, and because I've been treated so well by everyone, he says I'll be playing there for a long time.
"More or less like Marcelo and Casemiro, who have been there for a long time."
Vinicius perhaps had that advice on his mind with his first message since losing out on the top Ballon d'Or prize, as he posted: "I'll do it 10x if I have to. They won't be ready."
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His immediate focus, though, will be helping Real out of their recent slump during the 2024/25 season.
The reigning Champions League winners have lost two of their four group stage games of the competition, to Lille and then most recently AC Milan, and have six points.
In La Liga, Real are already nine points behind league leaders Barcelona - with a game in hand - and lost 4-0 to their El Clasico rivals at the Bernabeu last month.
Ryan Smart