Vinicius thanks mental toughness for the journey so far

 

Tottenham striker Carlos Vinicius admits he almost walked away from the game at the age of 22.

He went into a game for Gremio Anapolis thinking it would be his last, but scored two goals to kickstart a run of form which led Portuguese side Real Sporting Club to sign him and, after impressing there, Napoli made their move.

The Italian giants immediately loaned him to Portuguese side Rio Ave and he hit the ground running there.

But tragedy struck when his mother died of a heart attack and, for the second time in around a year, he came close to calling it a day.

It took some serious conversations with his loved ones to convince him to play on and, after coming through those dark days, he has gone from strength to strength, getting snapped up by Benfica and scoring the goals that led him on loan to Tottenham.

Vinicius, who has scored 10 goals for Spurs, said: “When you get the chance to join Tottenham it’s not something you say, ‘No’, to.

“As soon as they came in for me, I had to join this team, to be a part of this dressing-room, to share it with such wonderful players.

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“I am learning every single day.

“In terms of the mentality, at Tottenham, you have to be a winner, on and off the pitch.

“You have to be prepared for every single challenge.

“I enjoy every minute I am on the pitch — whether that’s one minute, five minutes or 90 minutes.”