Mbappe snub? Vini Jr 'best in the world' for Ancelotti

Stuart Telford

• 16 Mar 2023 15:34 GMT
• 3 min read

Kylian Mbappe continues to be linked with a move to Real Madrid, but for Carlo Ancelotti there is simply no upgrade for the incumbent player in his position, Vinicius Junior.

Real beat Liverpool 1-0 on Wednesday to win through to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 6-2 aggregate victory over the Reds.

Vinicius set up Karim Benzema for the winner at the Santiago Bernabeu, having had a hand in three goals - two strikes of his own and another provision for Benzema - when los Blancos routed Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield last month.

READ: Watch out Mbappe! PSG man not Real Madrid's only Benzema alternative

The Brazilian has come in for some criticism this season having been less prolific in the current campaign than he was in the last, but for head coach Ancelotti, the Brazilian has no equal.

Vini Jr: World's best

"For me, he is," answered the Italian when asked if Vini Jr. was the best player in the world. "He created danger every time he tried to go forward."

The regard Vincius is held in at Madrid throws up a curious concudrum for Mbappe, and indeed his potential next employers.

READ: Vinicius Junior's Real Madrid future up in the air

Vinicius' preferred position is on the left of a front three, with Federico Valverde invariably on the opposite side of striker Benzema - but that's exactly where Mbappe wants to play.

He has led the line at PSG this season, but part of his frustration - and a reason he continues to flirt with Madrid despite snubbing them to sign a new contract in Paris last May - is that he has to play as a No.9 at the Parc des Princes, with Neymar and Lionel Messi occupying the deeper and wider positions behind him.

Of Real's front three, Benzema is the one who's career looks to be winding down, even if he did win the Ballon d'Or as recently as October, so Mbappe could find himself playing as a striker should he join, especially given the regard he is held in by Ancelotti…