Vinicius Junior says he faces "a long road" to compete for the Ballon d'Or, as he tipped team-mate Karim Benzema to be named the world's best player this year.
Vinicius scored the only goal of the game as Real Madrid beat Liverpool to win their 14th Champions League title in May, having also played a key role in Los Blancos' dominant La Liga triumph.
The Brazilian scored 22 goals and recorded 16 assists in all competitions during the 2021-22 season, the latter figure representing a team-high total and one bettered only by Thomas Muller (22), Kylian Mbappe (21) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (18) among players in Europe's top five leagues.
Brazil's 2002 World Cup winner Rivaldo recently tipped Vinicius to challenge for the title of the world's best as early as next year, but the winger believes the examples set by fellow Madrid stars Benzema and Luka Modric show he has a long way to go.
"It's [the Ballon d'Or] something that has to come naturally," Vinicius told YouTube channel Que Papinho.
"Karim is 35 years old and now he will win it, Modric won it at 33 [in 2018].
"I have many years to evolve, a very long road for me if God wants me to win it one day."
Benzema's total of 59 goal contributions (44 goals, 15 assists) was only bettered by Mbappe (39 goals, 21 assists) in Europe's top five leagues last term, and Vinicius says his fellow Blancos attacker is the perfect role model.
"I'm only 21 years old. I want to follow players like Karim, Modric, Marcelo, who won five Champions League titles," he added.
"I want to get as close to them as possible. That's when someone can call me that [a role model].
"Benzema repays the affection I have for him. He was a player I followed for a long time. I'm a big fan and being able to play with him today is incredible.
"He recently in an interview put me in his top five in the world, so I'm really happy."
Tottenham and Brazil star faces knee surgery and long lay-off
Emerson Royal will miss a string of important games for Tottenham in the Premier League run-in after he undergoes surgery on a left knee injury.
The Brazil international faces a battle to play again this season, with the news of his setback coming as the club head into their final 10 games of the league campaign.
Spurs have Pedro Porro at their disposal at right-back, and the Spaniard is set to have a run in the side with Emerson Royal sidelined.
The north London giants let Matt Doherty join Atletico Madrid on loan in January, so acting head coach Cristian Stellini will hope Porro stays fit.
Tottenham said in a statement: "We can confirm that Emerson Royal suffered a meniscus injury to his left knee while on international duty with Brazil last week.
"The defender will undergo surgery before beginning his rehabilitation with our medical staff."
Emerson Royal has made 32 appearances for Tottenham this season, taking all competitions into account, including 23 starts.
He played in Brazil's 2-1 friendly defeat to Morocco on Saturday, suffering the injury in the 90th minute after a challenge from Sofyan Amrabat.
Kane not ruling out reaching 100 goals for England
Harry Kane is not ruling out scoring 100 goals for England after becoming his country's all-time leading goalscorer this international window.
The Tottenham striker's penalty in last week's 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifying victory over Italy moved him in front of Wayne Rooney outright on 54 goals for the Three Lions.
He added to that tally with another strike in Sunday's 2-0 win over Ukraine at Wembley to make it 55 goals in 82 appearances since making his debut in 2015.
Only Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo (122) and Iran great Ali Daei (109) have reached triple figures for men's international goals, while Argentina's Lionel Messi is one short.
But Kane, who will only turn 30 in July, is looking to chase down that big milestone ahead of qualifiers with Malta and North Macedonia in June.
"Getting 100 will be tough for sure, but I never count out anything," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
"I am still young – I am 29, I am still fit and strong. I want to play for England for as long as I can. Every game there is I will be putting myself forward to try and play.
"We will take it step-by-step. The next step will be trying to get into the sixties.
"A hundred is not out of the question. It will be extremely tough, but we will have to see how the next few years go."
Kane has scored 39 goals with his stronger right foot for England, seven with his left and nine via his head.
While he has yet to win a trophy with England – or indeed with Tottenham at club level – he won the Golden Boot with his six goals at the 2018 World Cup.
"I am extremely passionate about my country. I love playing for England," Kane, who also recently became Tottenham's record scorer, said of his Three Lions career to date.
"To think of all the English legends and strikers that have played the game and to be number one now is just beyond my dreams.
"Playing for England is special and to have this record is special.
"I don't think I dreamed this far. I dreamed of playing for England and scoring for England – to be record goalscorer was not even in my dreams.
"I have had so many great moments and hopefully there are more to come."
Nikola Jokic believes his main rival for a third-straight NBA MVP award, Joel Embiid, will "be remembered as one of the most dominant players in the league."
The clash between the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers had been billed as the league's two leading players facing off, only for the Sixers to rest Embiid due to a calf injury.
Jokic led Denver to a 116-111 victory on Monday, scoring 25 points with 17 rebounds and 12 assists, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to produce 10 games of at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in the same season.
With James Harden also out, Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 29 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, but the main talking point after the game remained Embiid, with Jokic reserving words of praise for his rival.
"I think he's a great player," he said. "I think he's gonna be remembered as one of the most dominant players in the league. The guy's a beast, and he's so talented.
"He can affect [the game] many ways on the floor. He can post up, he can face up, he can shoot threes. He can defend really well. He can, in some situations, guard one through five. So he's a really, really good player."
Embiid leads the league for points-per-game this season (33.3), ahead of Luka Doncic (32.9), Damian Lillard (32.2), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.3) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (31.1).
Sixers coach Doc Rivers said prior to the game he was tired of the animosity brought about by the debate around this year's MVP award, with Jokic having won it the last two seasons and having had another stellar year for the Nuggets.
"It's like we can't celebrate people," Rivers said. "The league is in a great place. It's in an amazing place.
"You've got Joel Embiid and Joker, two centers, in a non-center league, dominating the league. You've got Giannis, and I always put him as a whatever, because we don't know what [position] Giannis is, but he's one of the best players in the league. Jayson Tatum is playing unbelievable. Kevin Durant, if he wasn't hurt. You can just keep going.
"You can like them all, and you can actually not like one because you love the other one. But you don't have to hate on anybody. I think we just need to get back to judging whatever your flavour is, and I don't think you have to hate the other one, for sure."
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