Vinícius Júnior

Vinícius Júnior (born July 12, 2000, São Gonçalo, Brazil) is a Brazilian football (soccer) player who plays international football for Brazil and club football for the Spanish club Real Madrid. He is considered one of the top players in the world and has helped Real Madrid win multiple titles. He plays as an attacking left-wing forward. Vinícius struck the winning goal in the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League final for Real Madrid and struck one of two goals in the team’s 2023–24 Champions League victory. He has also been subject to highly publicized incidents of racism, which he has called out on multiple occasions.

Early life

Vinícius Júnior was born to Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira and wife Fernanda in São Gonçalo, in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. When Vinícius was six, his father took him to play for a school affiliated with the football club Flamengo. As a child, he played left back and idolized Brazilian footballer Robinho.

From 2007 to 2010 Vinícius continued his football training but also took futsal lessons. He was part of a strong futsal team at the club Canto do Rio and, at age nine, unsuccessfully tried out for Flamengo’s futsal team. The next year, he tried out, this time successfully, for Flamengo’s youth football team. The next few years were a struggle; Vinícius had to travel 70 km (44 miles) twice a day to get to and from the Flamengo training center. He briefly stayed with a cousin to be closer to training before his family managed to move closer to Flamengo. At 16 he signed his first professional contract with Flamengo.

Club career and stardom

By the time Vinícius made his professional debut for Flamengo, coming on as a substitute against Atlético Mineiro in the 2017 Brazilian Championship, he was already well known. Aware that Real Madrid had its eye on him, Flamengo increased his salary and set a €45 million release clause, anticipating a future transfer. A deal was soon reached, with Real Madrid signing him for €46 million, effective once he turned 18. At the time, it was the second most expensive transfer from a Brazilian league, after Neymar in 2013. Vinícius scored seven goals in 37 appearances for Flamengo before moving to Real Madrid and debuting for the latter against Atlético Madrid in September 2018.

Vinícius scored his first La Liga goal in November in a match against Real Valladolid. In 2019–20, Real Madrid won the La Liga title, and after a second-place finish the next season, won another title in the 2021–22 season, along with the 2022 Champions League title; Vinícius scored the winning goal in the latter final against Liverpool. He also ranked second on the team in goals and in assists. He then played a key role in taking Real Madrid to another La Liga title in 2023–24 and the Champions League title, again scoring a goal in the final, this time in a 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund. He has scored more than a hundred goals in his Real Madrid career.

In December 2024 Vinícius won FIFA Men’s Player of the Year, after scoring 24 goals in 39 appearances across all competitions. It was a moment of vindication for the young star, coming two months after missing out on the Ballon d’Or award to Manchester City midfielder Rodri. Vinícius and his Real Madrid teammates had boycotted that ceremony in Paris to protest.

International career

Vinícius started his international career as a youth and was named Player of the Tournament in Brazil’s 2015 win in the South American U-15 championship. He repeated his feat in 2017, helping Brazil win the South American U-17 tournament and enabling Brazil’s qualification to the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. However, he did not participate in the World Cup itself.

Access for the whole family!

Bundle Britannica Premium and Kids for the ultimate resource destination.

Subscribe

Vinícius was picked for the senior Brazil side for the first time in early 2019 but was withdrawn from the squad following an injury; he was subsequently left out of Brazil’s 2019 Copa America side as well. He finally debuted in September the same year in a friendly match against Peru and was included in Brazil’s 2021 Copa America side, which finished second to Argentina.

Vinícius scored his first international goal in 2022 in a FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifier versus Chile and was included in the World Cup squad after Brazil qualified. He scored his first World Cup goal in Brazil’s second-round win over South Korea; the team would go on to lose to Croatia in the quarterfinals. In the 2023 Copa America tournament, he scored two goals in a win against Paraguay but missed the quarterfinal (which Brazil lost) against Uruguay because of a suspension.

Dealing with racist abuse

In May 2023 a group of fans at a La Liga match in Valencia, Spain, heckled Vinícius from the stands with racist taunts, including monkey-like sounds and gestures. In March 2024, after a new round of racist abuse at games, he broke down and cried during a news conference when describing the toll that it was taking on him. In June 2024 a Valencia court sentenced three fans to prison sentences of eight months for the May 2023 incident. In Spain prison sentences of less than two years for nonviolent crimes rarely require a defendant without previous convictions to serve jail time, so the three are likely to remain free unless they commit further offenses. The court concluded that the fans’ behavior “caused the footballer feelings of frustration, shame and humiliation, with the consequent undermining of his intrinsic dignity.”

In September 2024 Vinícius ignited a backlash in Spain when he said the country should lose its status as cohost of the 2030 FIFA World Cup unless it does a better job of eradicating racism. Spain, Portugal, and Morocco are slated to host the tournament that year.