Vinicius wins player of the tournament

While he would share the honour of being World Champions with his Real Madrid teammates, Vinicius Junior would also cheer being named the Player of the Tournament.

Today, Real Madrid extended their lead as record Club World Cup winners to five, thanks to a brace from Vinicius and Federico Valverde and a solitary strike from Karim Benzema that helped them beat Al-Ahly 5-1.

Following the victory, FIFA announced via their Twitter account that Vinicius had been awarded the Golden Ball. 

Vinicius wins the player of the tournament off the back of impressive displays against Al-Ahly in the semi-final, where he scored Los Blancos' go-ahead goal in a 4-1 victory, and in the final of the competition, where he struck twice.

The 22-year-old Brazilian was tasked with leading Real Madrid's offence in the absence of Benzema, and although the Frenchman came on for half an hour in the final, Vinicius assumed the role and executed it effortlessly, as he has done at several points this season when Benzema has been injured.

Along with his four-goal contributions in the tournament, which put him joint-top with Flamengo's Pedro, Vinicius leads in the tournament for metrics like shots on target and big chances created.

The 2022 Club World Cup is Vinicius' eighth title with Real Madrid, and the Golden Ball in the competition is his first such award at Real Madrid since winning the UEFA Champions League Young Player of the Season for the 2021/22 campaign.