Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Jordan and more: Vinicius Jr’s entourage reveal Real Madrid superstar’s idols

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior's entourage has revealed the six athletes the Brazilian idolises, including Cristiano Ronaldo.

Vinicius, 22, has lit up European football this season, scoring 23 goals and providing 21 assists in 52 games across competitions. He will be in action for Madrid against Manchester City on Wednesday (May 17) in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal.

The Brazilian winger scored a thunderbolt in the 1-1 first-leg draw at the Santiago Bernabeu. It held similarities to the type of goal Cristiano Ronaldo would score during his time with Real Madrid.

Vinicius' entourage has revealed that the Portuguese icon features in his list of idols, telling The Athletic:

“Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Ronaldo Nazario, Kobe Bryant & Pele.”

Cristiano Ronaldo became a Los Blancos legend during his nine years at the Bernabeu. He's the club's all-time record goalscorer with 450 goals in 438 games across competitions and won four Champions League titles.

Meanwhile, NBA icon LeBron James is another idol of Vinicius', having carved out an illustrious career in the sport. He's the NBA's all-time leading scorer and is a four-time NBA finals MVP. Michael Jordan was a similarly captivating NBA player during his career. He's a six-time NBA champion and NBA MVP.

Kobe Bryant hit 33,643 points, made 8,378 free throws and completed 4,010 turnovers during his incredible career. The American passed away in 2020, but his legacy has been cemented in NBA history.

Vinicius also idolises Brazilian icons Pele and Ronaldo Nazario. The former bagged 77 goals in 92 international caps for Selecao. This is an all-time record, level with PSG forward Neymar. Pele won the FIFA World Cup on three occasions and sadly passed away last year.

Ronaldo Nazario dominated the game and was renowned for his goalscoring abilities. He finished as top scorer in Brazil's 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning campaign, scoring eight goals.

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Cristiano Ronaldo made cheeky request to Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior about his gym artwork

Cristiano Ronaldo (in pic) met Vinicius in January.

Cristiano Ronaldo spent time with his former side Real Madrid when Carlo Ancelotti's side visited the Middle East in January. Los Blancos lost 3-1 to Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo is in Saudi, as he joined Al Nassr in January. He made a cheeky request to Vinicius concerning his gym. The Brazilian has the walls of his gym plastered with all of the aforementioned idols except the Portuguese great.

Vinicius and Ronaldo were caught on video chatting when the Al Nassr frontman said to him (via the Mirror):

“I am missing.”

The source reports that Vinicius has now added a picture of Ronaldo to the wall at his home gym. The video of the duo was released on Real Madrid's social media and showed the mutual respect they have for each other.