Real Madrid rising star Vinicius Junior has revealed the reason he chose to sign with the Bernabeu club over La Liga rivals Barcelona.

Los Blancos beat a number of the world’s top clubs to sign Vinicius for a record €45 million (Dh192.7m) fee, despite the Brazil U-17 star having never played a senior match with his club Flamengo.

Regarded as the eventual heir to Neymar with Selecao, the Rio de Janeiro native will not officially join up with the Bernabeu side until he turns 18 on July 12, but he told ESPN Brazil yesterday why he selected the Champions League winners over the Catalan giants.

“I chose Real Madrid because it’s the biggest club,” he said. “I’ve always chosen to play among the best, and with help from Marcelo and Casemiro, I made that choice.”