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He is the smiling speedster on the wing that Real Madrid and La Liga hope will become their new big star.

At the tender age of 21, Vinicius Jr has grown into one of Real’s key players this season. And his head to head with Trent Alexander-Arnold will be one of the key battlegrounds in Saturday evening's Champions League final.

Just consider how influential he was during the late comeback against Manchester City in the semi-final. In the first leg at the Etihad, neither John Stones or Fernandinho could cope with his pace, and Vinicius scored a brilliant solo goal.

In the second leg, Kyle Walker was back and magnificent in subduing his surging breaks and sprints in behind… but the right-back was forced off injured in the 72nd minute when the score was 0-0 on the night. City scored to go ahead 5-3 on aggregate before throwing away the advantage.

Vinicius undertook a punishing fitness regime last summer in a bid to reach the next level and credits Carlo Ancelotti’s tough training regime for raising his game. A flood of goals and assists have set La Liga alight this season – his fourth at the Bernabeu since signing from Flamengo in Brazil – and he has struck up a strong playing relationship with striker Karim Benzema.

Wary of interest from Manchester United, Real want to extend his current