As the mammoth figure of Real Madrid’s return leg with Paris Saint-Germain looms into view, Vinicius Jr. sat down with MadridistaReal for a long-form interview.

Vinicius admitted that the match on Wednesday would be one of the biggest of his career and was sincere about his hunger to turnaround the tie against the odds. Asked if he signed for Real Madrid for nights like that of tomorrow, Vinicius agreed.

“Completely. I’ve experienced many Champions League nights with Real Madrid, but you take a close look at my story, this will be the most important. There have been beautiful nights for me, but some of them were in the Di Stefano [training ground stadium] without a crowd.”

Of course, one of the key themes was the match itself and how Real Madrid do turn it around.

“The support of our people will be one of the keys, as if it were part of the tactics or another player. PSG are a fantastic team and if we want to come back, I will have to be twice as good, Karim [Benzema] too, Luka [Modric] as well… It won’t be enough to simply have a good game. We have to be more than good.”

Vinicius is without doubt in the sweetest moment of his career and currently sits joint-second in the Pichichi race behind Benzema. Asked about the impact of manager Carlo Ancelotti, Vinicius highlighted the mental side of the game.

“He gives me lots of advice and that of being calm at the point of deciding the best option has been one of the most important. I didn’t think it was possible to combine my speed and that calmness, but the boss is teaching me that it is possible.”

Despite his clinical finishing this season, Vinicius was the object of humour for his lack of end product. When the subject was brought up, the Brazilian highlighted his route out of that rut.

“Work, self-confidence, being open to advice from the best, self-love… All of these things are the ideal recipe.”