[SPORTS] Dani Alves; Vinicius the best young player in the world

Vinicius billed as the best young player in the world by Brazilian icon Dani Alves

The Real Madrid youngster, who is progressing all the time in Spain, is being tipped for the top by a former Barcelona, Juventus and PSG defender

Real Madrid starlet Vinicius Junior is considered to be the finest young player on the planet, with Brazill icon Dani Alves bestowing that billing on the 19-year-old.

The talented South American has been highly regarded for some time now.

He made a senior debut with Flamengo at just 16 years of age, with those in Madrid quickly alerted to his potential.

A €46 million (£40m/$52m) deal was put in place, with Vinicius allowed to further his development in his homeland before heading to Spain.

That move was made in 2018, with the youngster impressing across his debut campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He has caught the eye again this term, alongside fellow Brazilian youngster Rodrygo, and is being tipped to reach the very top of the game.

Legendary full-back Alves told Business Insider when asked to name the most promising player within the global game: “I would have to say Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid.

“There are some players that are born with the talent and for sure he is one of them.

“I had the chance to watch him play closely, with the Brazil national team – I'm positive we will see and hear a lot more about him soon."

Vinicius has made just one senior appearance for Brazil so far, with an untimely injury having prevented him from forcing his way into Tite’s squad for the 2019 Copa America.

There will be plenty of opportunities for him to make his mark in the future, with the youngster having already shown that he can follow in illustrious footsteps.

He is among those being charged with the task of filling the void at Real created by Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure for Juventus in the summer of 2018.

Alves admits that living up to such expectations is never easy, with his former employers at Camp Nou set to find themselves in a similar position when the day comes for Lionel Messi to leave or hang up his boots.

A man now back in his homeland with Sao Paulo added: “I believe that in football we will always discover new talents

“In this club [Barcelon] before Messi, you had Ronaldinho, before Ronaldinho you had other great players.

“You're always going to have someone who will be better, but I still believe that it will be very hard to measure up to a player like Messi.

“Players like Messi are very hard to come around, but we can't forget that as football evolves, players do as well.”.