Brazil Rising Star Vinicius Junior: 'I Don't Want to Be Another Neymar'
Vinicius Junior has revealed his desire to forge his own path in football amid the expected comparisons to Brazilian superstar Neymar.
The Flamengo attacker, who has already joined Spanish giants Real Madrid for a reported £40m but is playing for his former club on loan until June 2019, was quoted by Goal about being compared to Neymar since his emergence in his native land.
Neymar was lauded as the next big thing after he broke into the senior set up at Santos back in 2010, and has since gone on to play for La Liga heavyweights Barcelona and French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Vinicius knows full well that comparisons between himself and the 26-year-old are inevitable, and he has spoken of his admiration and ability to learn from Neymar with the Brazilian national team.
However, the 17-year-old wants to write his own story in the beautiful game and bring happiness to fans in his country in his own way.
"I don't pay attention to the comparisons, but I have always followed Neymar," said Vinicius in the interview with Goal. "I have more contact with him nowadays and, when I watch him play, I try to take things to improve myself. "I don't want to be another Neymar, I want to build my own career and spread happiness for everyone from Brazil."
The right-sided forward has notched six goals and one assist in 33 first-team appearances for Flamengo and hopes to further his education with Los Blancos when he arrives in 18 months' time.
For now though, Vinicius has his eyes firmly set on winning silverware with his current team as he laid out his ambitions for the next season.
He added: “Everyone in the youth team dreams about that and it’s no different for me. The dream is to win the Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian league title, to have at least one big day with Flamengo.
“Flamengo was the club that helped me when I needed it. I have been here since I was 10-years-old. When I step out onto the pitch, I always remember my first day at Flamengo and everyone who helped me.
"[Youth team director] Norval helped me a lot, and the structure I was provided by Flamengo turned me from the worst to the best.”
