Man Utd star Alejandro Garnacho makes intentions clear with message to Real Madrid man

Alejandro Garnacho wants to follow in the footsteps of Vinicius Junior after telling the Real Madrid star that he is his ‘inspiration’.

Manchester United fans will hope that Garnacho’s compliment was meant in the sense of achieving Ballon d’Or and Champions League success, rather than pulling on the Spanish giants’ famous white shirt.

After Vinicius’ stunning second-half hat-trick in Los Blancos’ 5-2 comeback win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that the Brazilian is in line to claim this year’s Ballon d’Or following reports that the winner had been leaked early.

Vinicius scored 24 goals in all competitions last season as he helped Madrid win a Champions League and La Liga double. Garnacho has made it clear that he wants to emulate that success, commenting on the wide man’s latest Instagram post: “Big inspiration.”

It is not the first time Garnacho has revealed his admiration for Vinicius. Earlier this year he called him ‘the best player in the world’, and in 2023 he asked for his shirt after a pre-season match between United and Real.

Whether Garnacho could one day join up with Vinicius at the Bernabeu is another matter altogether. Despite representing Argentina at international level, United’s talented 20-year-old was born in the Spanish capital and spent five years in Atletico Madrid’s academy.

Reports earlier this year indicated that Garnacho ‘dreams’ of playing for Real one day, while Los Blancos president Florentino Perez was said to be keen on meeting up with the winger.

Garnacho has morphed from a talented prospect to one of the most important attackers in Erik ten Hag’s squad over the past two-and-a-half years. This campaign he is on course to better his previous-best goals total, with five in 12 games across all competitions.

But competition for minutes remains fierce at Old Trafford. Amad Diallo, Marcus Rashford and Antony are also fighting to bank game time on the flanks, meaning Garnacho has been forced to settle for substitute cameos three times in the Premier League this season, and twice in the Europa League.

Though Vinicius has gone on to enjoy huge success as an individual and with his team, the Brazilian was still finding his feet in Spain when he was Garnacho’s age, offering the United youngster encouragement that there is still plenty of time to match the accomplishments of his ‘inspiration’.