Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr names Liverpool player who he speaks to 'a lot'

Vinicius Junior says he speaks with one Liverpool player "a lot" - naming him alongside the likes of Raphinha and Reece James as his friends outside of Real Madrid

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. has been speaking(Image: Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. says he speaks to Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai "a lot" - naming the Hungarian as one of a number of players who he is friends with.

Szoboszlai has been linked with a move to Real Madrid this week after his national team manager, Marco Rossi, said it was a "dream" of his to play for the Spanish giant. He recently confirmed that talks had been held regarding a contract extension at Anfield.

"I talk a lot with Szoboszlai," Vinicius, the 25-year-old Brazil forward, told the YouTuber Ibai. "We met when we were younger. [Lucas] Paqueta is my best friend in football.

"Raphinha in Barcelona, Savinho, Reinier in Brazil, who’s played here too. We Brazilians are almost always together off the field.

"But from other teams who aren’t Brazilian, Reece James, I’m very good friends with him. Rafael Leao, I have quite a few friends outside."

Szoboszlai is under contract at Liverpool until 2028. He signed from RB Leipzig in 2023 for a fee of around $83 million (£61 million) and has arguably been the Reds' best player this season.

"Real Madrid has always been his dream," Rossi was quoted as saying by the Spanish outlet MARCA this week. The Hungarian national team boss says he knows because of the "very close and direct relationship" that he has with Szoboszlai.

Dominik Szoboszlai is having an excellent campaign(Image: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

"I absolutely don't rule out the possibility of him staying at Liverpool and renewing his contract there, especially because he's highly valued within the club," Rossi added.

"He's a very important player for Liverpool. And Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world."

This weekend, Szoboszlai netted his 10th goal of the season when he hit a great strike against Brighton.

"When I said that [a Liverpool midfielder needs to score goals], I maybe had to add that you need to be able to run a lot if you play in the midfield of Liverpool," Arne Slot said.

"But I think what I meant was as a No. 10, you also need to produce goals. Now he hasn't always played in the No.10 position, but he is producing more and more goals.

"I think Dominik is a great example of the model we are using here at this club. We sign young players from another league — in this situation that was Leipzig, where he was already known for being a player that was really physical.

"But I think it's fair for me to say that the player that we brought in was already good, but where he is now, I think [he is] much better than where he was two-and-a-half years ago."

Liverpool.com says: Szoboszlai is a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and links with Real Madrid are no huge surprise. He's playing very well at the moment, but it will be vital to tie him down to a new deal.