“They didn’t improve his left foot” – Ronaldo Nazario launches attack at Flamengo over development of Vinicius Jr
Real Madrid legend Ronaldo Nazario has accused Vinicius Junior's former club CR Flamengo of not handling the Los Blancos star's development properly.
Vinicius joined Real Madrid for a whopping sum of €45 million at 18 five years ago. He has since been a linchpin in the Spanish giants' attack, bagging 59 goals and 64 assists in 225 games across competitions. The winger has won nine trophies, including the UEFA Champions League and two La Liga titles, with the club.
It's worth noting the attacker earned a move to the Santiago Bernabeu after dazzling for Flamengo in his home country. He rose through the ranks at the Brazilian Serie A club before making his senior debut in their 1-1 draw at home against Atletico Mineiro in the league, aged 16.
The then-teenager netted 10 goals and provided four assists from 49 appearances across competitions during his brief spell with Flamengo's senior team. It was enough to convince Real Madrid to shell out a significant amount of money to sign him.
However, Ronaldo reckons Flamengo did not give Vinicius enough training at youth level. The Brazilian legend, who played for the Rio-based club's rivals Corinthians and Cruzeiro, claimed the Real Madrid star learned several things, including the fundamentals of football, at the Bernabeu.
"They (Flamengo) didn’t prepare him well at the youth level," Ronaldo said (h/t @MadridXtra on Twitter). "They didn’t improve his left foot, the technical fundamentals, the time and space on the pitch. He learned it all at Madrid."
According to Transfermarkt, at least two of Vinicius' 10 goals for Flamengo came from his left foot. The Brazil international, meanwhile, has netted eight times with his weak foot at Madrid. It is thus hard to determine if the criticism leveled by Ronaldo at Flamengo about not improving the winger's left foot is true.
When Vinicius Jr. expressed admiration for Ronaldo Nazario
Ronaldo Nazario is considered to be one of the greatest strikers in recent times and it's easy to see why Brazilian attackers like Vinicius Junior idolize him. The latter's admiration for the legendary center-forward goes beyond due to his ties with Real Madrid.
It wasn't long ago that the 22-year-old revealed watching his compatriot's videos for inspiration.
"I always watch Ronaldo’s videos"
'The Phenomenon' plied his trade for Real Madrid for four-and-a-half years between 2002 and 2007. During this period, he bagged 103 goals and 35 assists from 177 appearances across competitions for the club. The striker also helped Los Blancos win five trophies.
It's worth noting R9 won the Ballon d'Or shortly after moving to Madrid. He was also named the Best Men's Player by FIFA that year. He won the accolade after helping Brazil win the 2002 FIFA World Cup, in which he scored eight goals from seven games.