Ancelotti backs Vinícius Jr. to win Ballon d’Or one day،
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti believes Vinícius Júnior will win the Ballon d’Or soon.
The 23-year-old is on the 2023 shortlist for the award, which has not been won by a Brazilian player since Kaka in 2007.
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Asked if he thought there was a Brazilian in Madrid who could one day win the highest individual award, Ancelotti told TNT Sports after his side’s 2-1 Champions League victory at Braga: “Yes, Vinícius will win it soon.”
Vinícius, who is in his sixth campaign at Real Madrid, was the club’s second top scorer last season behind 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema.
After his two assists on Tuesday, Ancelotti believes that Vinícius is “back to his best level”.
“He scored the goal, which was ruled out by the narrowest of margins, and he provided assists to Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham.
“He’s back and he’s fit again. He made the difference.”
“They [Bellingham and Vinícius] work very well with and without the ball. We need to improve there but they’re both doing a great job.”
Ancelotti also praised Bellingham, who joined Madrid this summer for 103 million euros. [$109.9m] of Borussia Dortmund, scored 11 goals and set up three more in 12 matches.
“We have to consider that Bellingham is 20 years old,” Ancelotti said.
“I’ve never seen a player of this age have such an impact, come to a big club like Real Madrid and do everything well. He’s very efficient, he works a lot, he helps the team a lot, it’s a complete player.
“We are very happy that he is with us.”
Ancelotti was also happy that Rodrygo ended his 12-match goal drought – his goal against Braga was his first since August.
“For a striker, for Rodrygo, scoring goals is the most important thing,” Ancelotti said.
“What we, the staff, see is the work they do, the movements they make. Rodrygo is the first player in La Liga in terms of shots on goal. He was not effective in this first part of the season but he is “It’s always dangerous. The fact that he scored is very good for him.”
Real Madrid have won their three Champions League Group C matches.
Ancelotti’s team heads into Saturday’s Clasico in Barcelona at the top of La Liga. They are tied on 25 points with Girona and are one point ahead of Barça after 10 games.
“After this game [at Braga]we know exactly what we have to do – everything we can to win,” Ancelotti said.
“We have time to prepare. We are approaching this incredibly important match full of enthusiasm.”
Information from Reuters contributed to this report
