Former Seleccao skipper Cafu has named sensational Brazilian teenager Vinicius Jr. as the departed Cristiano Ronaldo's possible replacement at Real Madrid. Following his arrival from the Brazilian league, the 18-year-old prodigy has shown glimpses of his immense talent amid the Whites' struggles in attack following the exit of its all-time top goalscorer.
Cristiano Ronaldo brought an end to a nine-year-spell at the Spanish capital club by joining Italian outfit Juventus over the summer. One the other hand, Vinicius - who has been sparingly used by both Julen Lopetegui and new Real Madrid boss Santiago Solari this season - has scored once in three games after his loan spell with Flamengo.
However, Cafu - a former full back for AC Milan - has more than enough reason to believe that the Brazilian starlet has all the tools to have a successful career at Real Madrid.
"Vinicius will certainly do well in Real Madrid," he said according to UK tabloid Express.
"But it still cannot be considered a crack, and it certainly cannot be compared to Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Cristiano is Cristiano, with all the history in Real Madrid that the Portuguese brings below. Ronaldo has won everything at the Bernabeu.
"Vinicius certainly has everything to follow in his footsteps - he may become the new Cristiano Ronaldo.
"But will have to sweat and work hard to make that happen."
Relatively, fellow Brazilian legend Rivaldo insists that Julen Lopetegui made an error by keeping Vinicius on the bench while his team struggled during his tenure.
"He should have been playing regularly from the beginning of the season," he said.
"Now he has more opportunities with [Santiago] Solari and I think he will continue to earn the right to play more minutes. "He is a great player who shows a great personality on the pitch.
"He is showing great maturity for such a young player, only 18 years old."
