'One of the best' - Ex-Real Madrid youth teamer Adepoju backs Vinicius  Jr. to win Ballon d'Or after UCL heroics

Former Real Madrid youth teamer and retired Nigeria international Mutiu Adepoju has backed Los Blancos forward Vinicius Junior to win the coveted Ballon d'Or following the key role he played as Real Madrid won the 2024 UEFA Champions League. 

Real Madrid won their fifteenth Champions League title on Saturday night, beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at the Wembley Stadium in London, with Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr. getting on the scoresheet in the second half.

In a game of two halves, Carvajal planted an emphatic glancing header into the far corner to break the deadlock in the 74th minute before the Brazil international lifted the ball into the far corner to double the advantage after he was teed up by  Jude Bellingham at minute 83.

Vinicius Jr. ended the campaign as Real Madrid's top scorer with 24 goals in all competitions, with six of them coming in the Champions League. 

Adepoju noted that the likelihood of Vinicius Jr. winning the  Ballon d'Or is high on the back of his impressive performances over the last few seasons. 

"I think so because he has done great things this season," Adepoju said on SuperSport. 

"The past few years he has been doing very well, this season has been very great, he won La Liga and Champions League and scoring beautiful goals.

"This goal too makes him one of the best (candidates) for the Ballon d'Or."

Adepoju praised Real Madrid for their performance in the second half after struggling in the first half and conceding cheap chances to the German side. 

"In the first half if they get a goal it's going to be a problem. They were looking for the goals, right from the beginning of the second half, they came all out and they were pressurizing and high press from Dortmund goal-line

"They had the opportunity of having that corner kick and got the goal."

Vinicius Junior ranked sixth in the 2023 Ballon d'Or ranking, two places above Napoli superstar Victor Osimhen.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: realmadrid.com

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