Jude Bellingham says Real Madrid teammate deserves to win 2024 FIFA The Best Men's Player award
Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham believes club teammate Vinicius Junior deserves to win the 2024 FIFA The Best Men's Player award. The Los Blancos duo are among the nominees for the coveted award, which is set to be announced on Tuesday, December 17.
Vinicius was outstanding for the LaLiga giants last season, registering 24 goals and 11 assists from 39 games across competitions. He helped Real Madrid win the league, UEFA Champions League and Supercopa de Espana.
The Brazilian was the frontrunner for the Ballon d'Or as well this year but lost out to Manchester City's Rodri. The Spaniard is also among the nominees for FIFA The Best Men's Player award, but recent reports have suggested that Vinicius Junior has won the award.
As cited by Madrid Xtra, Bellingham insisted that he is delighted for his teammate.
“Vini Jr won ‘The best’? If he has won, it’s completely deserved. I’m very happy for him,” said Bellingham.
Vinicius Junior has been in good form this season as well, registering 13 goals and nine assists from 20 games across competitions. Real Madrid famously boycotted the Ballon d'Or ceremony in October this year to protest against the result.
However, a separate report has hinted that the 24-year-old will attend The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in Doha on Tuesday. The other nominees for the men's award are Dani Carvajal, Erling Haaland, Federico Valverde, Florian Wirtz, Lamine Yamal, Toni Kroos, and the reigning champion Lionel Messi.
How many goals has Vinicius Junior scored for Real Madrid to date?
Vinicius Junior arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 as a relatively unknown player. The LaLiga champions reported paid Flamengo £38 million for the Brazilian, who was identified as one of the brightest young talents in the continent.
Vinicius took some time to find his feet at the Santiago Bernabeu but has come into his own in recent years. His importance to Los Blancos is evident from the fact that Kylian Mbappe has had to operate through the middle because the Brazilian plays in the left-forward role.
Vinicius has registered 96 goals and 84 assists from 284 games across competitions for Real Madrid. He has won three LaLiga titles, two Champions League and one Copa del Rey.
The Brazilian has won the Spanish Supercup thrice during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu. He also has two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups under his belt.