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What's the story?
Barcelona defender Jordi Alba has opined that while Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. is a fantastic player for his age, he still has ways to go before he can be compared to "best in the world" Lionel Messi.
In case you didn't know...
Vinicius Jr has recently been at the centre of Messi comparisons by fans and pundits alike. Despite having endured a dismal start to the campaign, the Brazilian youngster is in the midst of a breakthrough season at the Bernabeu, having netted four goals and registered twelve assists in twenty-five appearances for Los Blancos in all competitions so far.
The Brazilian recently came under fire for tweeting out that Los Blancos were not afraid of facing Messi in this week's Clasicos.
The tweet translates to, "Messi is incredible, and does things few players are capable of doing, but he doesn't scare us."
"We are ready for anything that comes. We have the best players in the world also."
Real Madrid, of course, crashed out of the Copa del Rey last night after Barcelona defeated them in the second leg of the semi-final.
The heart of the matter
Alba has now addressed the comparisons between the two players, stating that it was too early to be comparing Vinicius to a player of Messi's caliber.
Speaking to COPE (via AS), the defender said, "In the end we're comparing him to the best in the world...bloody hell!"
"Vinicius is a great player. I have never said anything bad about him... We have to be sensible about it, we have to be honest."
"He is a fantastic player, one who is giving a lot to Madrid, despite his tender age. It is not easy at a huge club like Real Madrid that a kid, just 18 years old, to be creating the chances and be one of the stars in every game. That is not easy."
"But the comparison [with Messi] does not do him or anyone else any good."
What's next?
Real Madrid will now hope to avenge their exit from the Copa del Rey when they face Barcelona once again in La Liga on Saturday.
