Neymar insists Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr deserves Ballon d'Or gong

Vinicius Jr is among the candidates for the award, which will be announced next month.

Neymar said: "He had a great season, he played many games and I will be supporting him because he will surely win the Golden Ball.

"We have a magnificent relationship, I love ‘Vini’, is a great friend.

"There is no one better to win the Ballon d'Or. I hope he will return to Brazil soon with the trophy, he's a guy who deserves it because he's a fighter, suffered a lot throughout his life, was able to exceed all expectations, overcame all the criticism they made about him and today he has become a great idol, a hero for us."