Vinicius Junior hit out at his critics for continuing to “try to cancel and denigrate me” after being named men's player of the year at the FIFA Best Awards in Doha.
The Real Madrid and Brazil forward was given the award after a stunning 2023/24 season in which he scored a career-high 24 goals and helped Los Blancos win LaLiga and the Champions League.
It comes seven weeks after he missed out on the Ballon d'Or against Manchester City and Spanish midfielder Rodri, with the 24-year-old and Madrid boycotting the ceremony.
Vinicius, who joined from Flamengo in 2018, has been the victim of racist abuse regularly in Spain over the past two seasons and was happy to prove his doubters wrong.
“I came, I saw, I won,” he wrote on Instagram. “Today I write this for that boy who saw so many idols holding the trophy aloft… your time has come.
“That is, my time has come. The time to say that, yes, I am the best player in the world and that I fought a lot to get here.”
“They tried and continue to try to cancel and denigrate me. But they can't,” he added.
'No one is going to tell me who to fight for, or how to behave. When I came in [hometown] Sao Goncalo, the system didn't work for me. I was almost swallowed up.
“I won for me, for my family. With a lot of support along the way: Flamengo, Real Madrid, the Brazilian national team, hundreds of my fellow players over those years… the people who share my daily routine with me, who admire I…the best player in the world.”
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