Given his success and growing confidence over the last two seasons, it is no surprise Vinicius Jr wants to assume a significant role at Real Madrid, especially after the departure of Karim Benzema.
As reported before, he is more than ready to step up and take over the leadership role and if reports from Diario AS are to be believed, the young Brazilian now wants to be the proprietor of penalty-taking duties as well.
The Spanish publication adds that the 23-year-old has been staying late on the pitch to practise penalties. The player willingly wants to take more responsibilities on his shoulders and he is doing everything he can to make it happen.
Vinicius Jr has been at Real Madrid since 2018, and while his initial years were rather difficult, the young forward has hit the ground running in the last couple of campaigns, scoring 22 goals in the 2021-22 season and 23 in the season that just finished.
As a result, the 23-year-old has become the face of the team and it can be understood by the fact that the management has handed him iconic the No. 7 shirt heading into the 2023/24 campaign.
As far as penalty-taking duty is concerned, former captain and striker Karim Benzema was tasked to care for the job. Over the years, players such as Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo have done the job. The aforementioned media outlet claims that Vinicius wants to follow in the footsteps of these legends.
It has been reported that ever since Benzema’s exit, the likes of Rodrygo Goes and Luka Modric were handed penalty duties, but if Vinicius can keep his head down and keep working, he can convince his manager that he is the right man as well. Until then, all he can do is keep working on his abilities and enhance those.
