Real Madrid coach talks about Vinícius Júnior and Ballon d'Or: "He will win"

Tite defined Flamengo and announced the 11 starters who will face Peñarol, this Thursday, at Maracanã, at 7pm. De la Cruz returns to the starting lineup in place of Léo Ortiz, and Alex Sandro and Plata were retained. The duel with the Uruguayans is the first between the teams in the quarter-finals of the Copa Conmebol Libertadores. Follow the Red and Black lineup:Rossi, Varela, Fabrício Bruno, Léo Pereira and Alex Sandro; Pulgar, De la Cruz, Gerson and Arrascaeta; Plata and Bruno Henrique.

Alex Sandro and Plata, debutants in last Sunday's classic, remain in the team after having good performances in the draw against Vasco. Gabigol is now out of the relationship due to fibrosis in the posterior muscle of his right thigh. Flamengo, in a statement, reported that the athlete did not suffer any injury in the region. Check it out:

"The Clube de Regatas do Flamengo informs that the athlete Gabriel Barbosa underwent tests that did not diagnose an injury to the posterior muscle of his right thigh. However, the Technical Committee opted for precaution and did not list him for the duel against Peñarol due to fibrosis in the region. Gabi is handed over to physiotherapists and physical trainers for the series of decisive games of the season."

Flamengo faces Peñarol (URU) in the first game of the CONMEBOL Libertadores quarter-finals and, here, you can watch the broadcast, live, with 2h30 of pre-game, interviews, the team's arrival at Maracanã and everything more.

Follow the match live here:

One of the main targets of criticism in the bad phase that the Brazilian team is facing is Vini Jr. Without being able to apply the football he parades in Real Madrid, the former Flamengo player was analyzed by his coach Carlo Ancelotti, who commented on why the athlete played poorly at the service of Brazil.

In a press conference before the game against Real Sociedad in LaLIga, the Italian coach assessed Vini's moment not only in the national team, but also in the club, and reiterated the importance of the star in the team Spanish.

“Vinícius is not at his best, but he continues to be very important for us. He was decisive in the European Super Cup, for example. He hasn't scored goals like we're used to seeing, but we're in no rush about that: the team scores and he's important, he always gives everything he can. In Brazil, it's a general problem, because the team isn't playing its best football. Here we remain enchanted with him, no one can forget that we won two Champions Leagues with him”, declared Ancelotti.

Nominated, and perhaps the favorite to win the best player in the world awards, in the National Team, Vini Jr has numbers discreet. Since his debut, there have been 35 games played and only five goals scored.

Beyond the moment of Vini Jr, another point discussed by Ancelotti at the press conference was a possible transfer of the youngster to Arab football. Rumors suggest that Vini could be the player with the highest salary in the history of sports if he accepted the offer.

However, despite the buzz in the press, Ancelotti claims that he knows and talks to his players, and that nothing reached his ears about the matter.

“I don't know if this offer really arrived. I speak to all the players, but we never spoke to Vinícius about this offer. He won't lose his idea of ​​what he has to do because of things that come from outside”, said the coach.

In the current season, Vini Jr has already played five games, with one goal and three passes to goal.