Scoring in a Champions League final and being described by your childhood icon as the best in the world was not a bad way end to end the 2021-22 season for Vinicius Jr.
Not only did the Real Madrid forward win his second La Liga title, but he won his first European crown thanks to his second-half goal against Liverpool in the Champions League final in Paris.
He was named the Champions League young player of the season, while also being included in the Champions League and La Liga teams of the season.
The accolades did not stop there, with Paris St-Germain forward and Vinicius' Brazil team-mate Neymar telling TNT Sports Brazil that the then 21-year-old was the best player in the world last season.
For Vinicius, destiny and hard work marry up, but to call it a breakout year would be unjust to his previous seasons. Many have known his talent from an early age - that is why Real signed him for £38.7m, a record for a player under the age of 19.
The deal was agreed a year before his July 2018 unveiling and when he was 16 and had played only 17 minutes of senior football.
If signing for Los Blancos was not pressure enough, Vinicius was announced as a Real's first summer signing four days after they secured their first La Liga title in five years. He was also their first transfer since the end of the club's ban on signing players.
Even more seismic, however, was that by the time Vinicius would be incorporated into the Real set-up a year later, he would be the replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo following his move to Juventus after nine years at the Bernabeu.
In a time of transition after manager Zinedine Zidane's first departure, Vinicius was a shining light.
"He has brought to the side an electricity, a sharpness and bravery they did not have," Spanish football expert Guillem Balague told BBC Radio 5 Live in 2018.
"In my eyes he has got a bit of both Ronaldos."
But it was not all success in his first season. He made 31 appearances and ended the campaign with four goals and eight assists as Barcelona won the league title.
Vinicius dealt with this adversity and helped Madrid win La Liga the next season, playing 38 times in all competitions.
Vinicius' time in Madrid has not been plain sailing, however. In October 2020, during a Champions League group stage game against Borussia Monchengladbach in which Madrid were trailing at half-time, striker Karim Benzema was caught on camera telling team-mate Ferland Mendy not to pass the ball to Vinicius and that "he is playing against us".
But the incident did not stop Vinicius and he continued to shine, winning his second league title the following season under new manager Carlo Ancelotti as well as the Champions League, avenging Madrid's semi-final defeat the previous year.
In what was an extraordinary campaign for Real last term, particularly in Europe, Vinicius ended the season with 22 goals and 16 assists, playing 52 games.