Vinicius Jr and Kaka send heartfelt messages as Rayssa Leal wins skateboarding bronze medal at Paris Olympics 2024
Football stars Vinicius Jr and Kaka have shown their support for their compatriot Rayssa Leal after she emerged victorious at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The skateboarder won the bronze medal, her second successive podium finish at the Olympics, to win her country its third medal in Paris. At the time of writing, Brazil have four medals (one silver and three bronze).
Leal competed in the women's street skateboarding event, having won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The event was dominated by teenagers, with the 16-year-old Leal finishing in third place behind the Japanese duo of Coco Yoshizawa and Liz Akama. The Brazilian finished with a score of 253.37 points behind Akama's 269.95 and Yoshizawa's 272.75.
Brazilian football stars Kaka and Vinicius Jr were impressed by the performance of the 16-year-old and shared their wishes in the comments section of Leal's Instagram post. The current Real Madrid winger posted heart emojis, while the retired Real Madrid star wrote:
"Glory to God for your life👏👏👏👏"
"❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️," posted Vinicius.
Vinicius Jr was part of Brazil's squad for the Copa America this summer. Although they bowed out in the quarter-finals, the 24-year-old is among the frontrunners for this year's Ballon d'Or award. The forward would emulate Kaka if he manages to win it, as the former midfielder was the last Brazilian to achieve the feat in 2007, 17 years ago.
Vinicius Jr set to resume pre-season training with Real Madrid - Reports
Brazilian star forward Vinicius Jr is gearing up to join the rest of the Real Madrid squad and begin his pre-season training this week. The 24-year-old was given an extended break after featuring for Brazil in the 2024 Copa America.
Relevo reports that the forward will join the squad on Thursday (August 1) along with fellow Brazilians Eder Militao and Rodrygo. The trio will likely not be involved in the friendly against AC Milan on Wednesday (July 31) but could feature in the pre-season El Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday (August 3).
The forward had his best-ever season in 2023-24, playing a starring role for Real Madrid as they won La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. He registered 24 goals and 11 assists in 39 games. Vinicius Jr will be hopeful of forming a deadly partnership with Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 2024-25 season.