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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Victor

Vinicius Jr pulls off incredible showboating as Paul Pogba plays in 22-goal thriller

Vinicius Jr produced a wonderful piece of showboating during an exhibition match between teams led by legendary Brazil stars Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos.

The Real Madrid forward, who scored the winning goal in this season's Champions League final, was among the big named to take part in the game in Miami. Ronaldinho led one of the two teams, with Roberto Carlos heading up the other, with the latter coming out winners by a 12-10 scoreline.

Vinicius Jr was on Ronalidinho's team alongside Paul Pogba, Paulo Dybala and a number of stars of yesteryear as well as a few celebrities. Pogba was playing while waiting for his own next move to be made official, with a return to Juventus thought to be on the cards.

Vinicius Jr was on the scoresheet inside 15 minutes, cutting in from the left and beating goalkeeper Mimmo Conte. He followed up the strike by emulating Ronaldinho's own celebration.

However, the real moment of brilliance came later in the first period. After collecting the ball on the left wing, the 21-year-old dribbled the ball with his head while waiting for opposition defenders to attempt to challenge him.

It was a move made famous by former Brazil youth international Kerlon, who attracted plenty of attention for his 'seal dribble' while starring for his country's age-group teams. Eventually an opponent approached the youngster, and the fun ended as he laid the ball off.

Is Vinicius Jr a future Ballon d'Or winner? Have your say in the comments section

Vinicius Jr had a lot of fun in the exhibition game (Flow Sports)

Back in 2018, when Real Madrid announced a €46m deal for Vinicius Jr, it was a record fee for an 18-year-old. It has taken the former Flamengo man a while to his his stride, but he enjoyed a breakout season under Carlo Ancelotti with 17 league goals as Los Blancos won La Liga.

The 14-cap Brazil international switched sides in the exhibition game in Miami, dubbed The Beautiful Game by R10 & RC3'. He also netted for Team Roberto Carlos in the second half, with Dybala providing the assist.

As well as Vinicius Jr, Dybala and Pogba, the current stars involved at Inter Miami's stadium included Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies, Chile star Arturo Vidal and veteran Colombia star Radamel Falcao. Former Man Utd man Falcao was also on the scoresheet, as was former NFL star Chad Ochocinco Johnson.

Pogba, whose contract at Manchester United expires this summer, has been tipped to inherit Dybala's number 10 shirt if and when he rejoins Juventus. Argentina star Dybala is poised to leave Turin this summer after seven years as a Juve player.

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