Michail Antonio believes Manchester City have one of the rare players in the game who can dribble the ball better than Vinicius Jr.
Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr doesn’t have the best of reputations with Manchester City fans after he no-showed the Ballon d’Or ceremony in 2024 when Rodri beat him to the coveted prize.
But there can be no denying Vinicius’ talent; the fact he even ran Rodri so close for the accolade says a lot given the midfield maestro was the obvious winner.
The Brazilian winger had enjoyed a fantastic 2023-24, scoring 24 goals and grabbing 11 assists in 39 games.
Vinicius scored or assisted in every round of the Champions League knockout stages, including a goal in the final triumph over Borussia Dortmund, which Rio Ferdinand infamously claimed he deserved the Ballon d’Or for.
Last season wasn’t as successful as Los Blancos went trophyless and Carlo Ancelotti lost his job, but Vinicius still delivered with 22 goals and 19 assists, as well as countless moments of brilliant skill on the ball.
Yet, Michail Antonio says Jeremy Doku is a better dribbler than him.
- Who is Jeremy Doku? Keep up to speed with Man City’s rapid winger
Jeremy Doku named as a better dribbler than Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr
In a TikTok clip from the beastmodeonpodcast channel, West Ham United star Antonio was tasked by his co-host to name a player better at a certain skill than the one suggested.
When asked to name a better dribbler than Vinicius, without hesitation, Antonio replied: “Doku.”
There were also shoutouts for City legend Kevin De Bruyne, who was named as a better passer than Bruno Fernandes and with a better right foot than Robert Lewandowski.
Jeremy Doku dribbling stats compared to Vinicius Jr
Here’s how Doku’s dribbling stats compare with Vinicius from last season in their respective league campaigns.
| Stat | Jeremy Doku | Vinicius Jr |
| Dribbles | 90 | 79 |
| Dribble success rate | 60% | 45.1% |
| Touches | 2,784 | 1,442 |
| Fouled | 33 | 70 |
| Possession lost | 348 | 456 |
It looks like Antonio was right, as Doku’s dribbling stats blow Vinicius’ out of the water. Even though the Belgian attempted more dribbles, his success rate was miles better.
After a couple of middling years at City, 2025-26 could be the season that Doku fully realises his potential and reaches another level.
The signs were promising in the Club World Cup, especially in Doku’s performance against Juventus as a new partnership with Rayan Ait Nouri was showcased for the first time.
Ait Nouri teed up Doku with a wonderful pass to score and Shay Given was left very impressed.
Speaking on punditry duty for DAZN, Given said: “I loved the Doku goal as well, the first one, because the movement from Doku and the pass from Ait-Nouri was world-class. It really was.
“Them two paired up really well tonight, so it was exciting times for Man City.”
