Vinícius Jr. played the hero in Real Madrid's latest Champions League match, but in a post-match interview, he opted not to comment on his Ballon d'Or candidacy.

“I leave that to the people. They can say what they want, and I’m happy when the fans chant my name,” said the Brazilian, who scored a hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund.

He was also critical of his team after trailing 0-2 at halftime and emphasized the need to improve, stating, “If not, the coach - Carlo Ancelotti - won’t hold on.”

“Believe in ourselves. In our house, with our fans, anything can happen. When we got to the locker room, we only listened to the coach and said one thing: if we score the first goal, we’ll come back again. We have to improve and play like this from the start, or the coach won’t hold on,” he said to Movistar+.

“It’s normal. We’re figuring out how we’re going to play, and the coach wants to make games easier for us. In the second half, we changed the formation and dynamic. This is our competition, and we want to win it again,” he added.

Vinícius also reiterated his love for Real Madrid, saying he has “four more years on his contract” but wants to “stay forever” at the club.