Vinicius Junior: I had an offer from Barcelona – but listened to my heart

Vinicius Junior Real Madrid

Vinicius joined Real Madrid on his 18th birthday in July 2018 from Brazilian outfit Flamengo.

Madrid held the youngster in such high regard that they paid £40m for relatively unproven teenager.

Vinicius believes he will return the Spanish giant's investment in him as his career there continues to unfold.

The 19-yeard-old is keen to win as many titles as he can in Madrid.

"I see myself staying at Real Madrid for a long time," Vinicius told Real Madrid TV (via Marca).

"I see myself winning almost everything here."

His lofty ambitions will be music to the ears of notorious club chief Florentino Perez, who wants only the best for Los Blancos.

It was his determination to pay a large fee for Vinicius in 2018, rather than over-paying for him in the future, that secured his status as one of the biggest prospects at Real Madrid.

The Brazilian attacker admits he was taken aback by the interest from La Liga and claims Barcelona were too in the mix.

"At first I thought it wasn't true, that it was just a newspaper rumour," he added.

"I had offers from both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

"My father told me I had to choose with my heart, and I listened to him."

Vinicius conceded that adapting to life in Spain was difficult, but that his compatriots helped him settle.

"When I first arrived, it was very difficult because it was a massive change in my life," he said.

"I thought I wasn't going to survive because it was so difficult being away from the people I love.

"My family is everything to me and they always do everything possible to make me happy, and if I'm happy then I play better.

"When my family arrived, everything was better.

"Casemiro and Marcelo also helped me a lot as they had been through the same thing."

Vinicius is still vying for game-time in a hugely competitive squad and has contributed a goal and assist in 385 minutes of football so far this season.

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