Vinicius Jr urged to 'get the Ballon d'Or out of your head' and 'start playing well' amid Real Madrid struggles

Vinicius Jr and Real Madrid had been expecting the Brazilian to win the Ballon d'Or after landing La Liga and Champions League titles last season but saw the forward pipped to the award by Manchester City's Rodri. Los Blancos reacted by boycotting the glitzy ceremony in Paris, while Vinicius Jr sent out a defiant message on social media after the winner was announced. However, the Brazilian has also been left feeling sad at his Ballon d'Or snub and his Real Madrid team have also hit a bad patch, losing their last two games to Barcelona and AC Milan.

Real Madrid's consecutive defeats means it's been an underwhelming start to the season for the Spanish giants. Carlo Ancelotti's team appears to lack balance and the Italian is yet to get the best out of superstar signing Kylian Mbappe. A 'crisis meeting' has been held at the club in a bid to find a solution to their struggles, while Vinicius Jr has been offered some advice on how to help his team by Brazil legend Rivaldo.

He told Betfair, via Mundo Deportivo: "Vinicius has to get this Ballon d'Or story out of his head, start playing again and start playing well for Real Madrid, who have to win games after two consecutive defeats. Vinicius is young, he has the age and the football to turn all this around. One day he will win the Ballon d’Or. He could be the best in the world one or more times. Do all the journalists who vote really understand football? Are all of them, absolutely all of them, really qualified people? I can’t underestimate Rodri. He’s a player I like. For me he was my second candidate. And yes, although I think Vinicius deserved the Ballon d’Or more, I can’t take away any merit from the award, because I really admire Rodri. His way of playing and his style. I like him."

All eyes will be on Vinicius and Real Madrid on Saturday to see if they can arrest their current slump. Los Blancos take on Osasuna next in La Liga who have made a great start to the season and sit in fifth place in the table.