Vinicius Junior admits to having been given “three days” to decide between a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid, but insists his €46 million (£42m/$51m) price tag does not weigh heavy on his shoulders.
The Brazilian forward found himself coveted by leading sides in Europe after making a stunning breakthrough with Flamengo at just 16 years of age.
Both of the Clasico arch-rivals battled to buy into his potential, with big-money offers sent to South America.
Vinicius was given little time in which to make a major call regarding his future, but has no regrets at having favoured the Blancos over their Clasico rivals at Camp Nou.
He told FourFourTwo: “It was right after I came back from the 2017 South American Under-17 Championship in Chile. There were already rumours in the press, but I never believed them.
“Eventually it happened: both Real Madrid and Barcelona put offers on the table and I had only three days to make my decision.
“I always wanted to play for the greatest club, so that’s why I chose Real.
“My parents visited both clubs and liked them more. It matched with what I already wanted, and I felt their project was better for me.
“They give a lot of minutes to the younger players, like me, and were going through an outstanding period of success in the Champions League back then.”
GettyReal secured three successive European crowns between 2016 and 2018.
Vinicius officially joined their ranks on the back of the most recent of those triumphs, having initially been allowed to further his development with Flamengo.
Big things are expected of him and questions have been asked of his end product at times, with only four goals recorded in the current campaign.
The talented teenager is, however, adamant that he feels under no extra pressure as a youngster with a hefty transfer fee hanging over him.
Vinicius said: “It was one of the toughest parts, more so than playing consistently. I had to make everyone forget about the price tag.
“Fortunately, I played a lot of games in my first season. Now I have surpassed 50 matches for Real Madrid – few players achieve that at such a young age.”
Vinicius has taken in 59 outings for Real in total, finding the target eight times, and will be looking to get his hands on major silverware when competitive action resumes after the coronavirus-enforced break.