I was born to score goals, says new Real Madrid striker Jovic

Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic believes he was born with a natural instinct for scoring goals.

The 21-year-old striker made a €70 million (£62m/$79m) move to Real Madrid this summer after impressing in Germany with Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Serbia international rose to stardom with Red Star Belgrade before being sold to Benfica in 2016.

Playing in just four games for the Portuguese giants, he was sent to Frankfurt on an initial two-year loan deal and went on to score 36 times in 75 appearances with the Bundesliga side.

A lot is expected of the attacker at the Santiago Bernabeu after their sizeable investment, but he is confident he can deliver the goods because he has a gift.

"Sometimes I think I was just born with it. Everyone in this life has certain talents, and I think mine is scoring goals," he wrote in The Players' Tribune. 

"I don’t know how I ended up playing as a striker, but as far back as I can remember I’ve always been obsessed with scoring.

"When I was a child, I used to have these two VHS tapes of all the goals from every single World Cup up to 2006, I think. I remember being mesmerized by Roger Milla from Cameroon at the ’90 World Cup, and of course Ronaldo - the original Ronaldo.

"I was obsessed with how he did that step-over dribble against goalkeepers. I remember it being so fast, like a magician’s trick, and I would practice how to do it at home. Ronaldo would play football with such ease, almost as if he was at 30%, and I thought it was incredible. His style and confidence left a mark on me. 

"I guess my coaches must have seen that instinct in me, because they put me at striker from my very first steps in football."

Jovic has had a rapid rise since his breakthrough at Red Star. He has already featured in a World Cup with Serbia and helped fire Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League semi-finals last season, losing to eventual winners Chelsea on penalties.

But he puts his success down to his confidence in his ability, saying it is a necessity for someone in his position.

"Things have happened very fast for me. A few years ago, I was just dreaming of playing for Red Star," he added. 

"To play in a Europa League semi-final, to play in a World Cup, and now to move to Real Madrid, it is incredible. But I think the most important thing for a striker is confidence. I’ve never doubted my worth. I just feel like I have a quality that I was born with, and I will never doubt it.

"It’s funny, the last time I played for the national team, one of my team-mates, Stefan Mitrovic, said something like: 'Man, the things I could do if I had your confidence'.  

"But for me, it just makes sense. How can you be a striker without confidence? For this position, the most important part is not the beginning, it is the ending. 

"Same for me. In the beginning, I was born in a small village in Serbia with 105 houses, a place that you have probably never heard of before. Where is this story going next? What will I achieve? What is the ending? I don’t know, but I have really big dreams."