Who is Vinicius Jr: All you need to know about Real Madrid star who is battling racial abuse

The La Ligacontest on Sunday, May 21 saw volatile scenes as Real Madrid lost 0-1 to relegation-threatened Valencia. However, the contest will be remembered for all the wrong reasons after Madrid star Vinicius Jr was sent off while he was racially abused by a section of Valencia fans with turbulent scenes taking place after the match. Vinicius posted an emotional message on his Instagram handle to condemn the act of racism and has since been in the limelight.

Who is Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr?

Born on July 12, 2000, in the locality of São Gonçalo in Brazil, Vinicius started his career as a futsal player before taking football lessons. Having joined the youth academy of Flamengo in 2010, it was not until the 2017 season he made his senior debut for the Brazilian giants. While he made his debut for Flamengo on 13 May, just 10 days later he signed for Real Madrid, which technically come into effect after his 18th birthday in 2018.

He transferred for a reported fee of €46 million ($49mn approx), which was at the timethe second-most expensive sale of a player in the history of Brazilian football (behind only Neymar), the largest amount received by a Brazilian club for a transfer, and the highest amount ever paid by a club for a footballer under the age of 19.

On 20 July 2018, he was officially presented as a Real Madrid player. He was issued squad number 28. He made his debut on 29 September, coming in as an 87th-minute substitute in a goalless draw against Atlético Madrid.

While getting into the team was a herculean task for Vinicius, his brace against Levante in La Liga in the 3-3 draw saw him earn a place ahead of Eden Hazard for the 2021-22 season. He scored the brace after coming on as a substitute and would take the spot permanently under Carlo Ancelotti. However, it was in the reverse fixture where he would lay down a marker as he scored a hat-trick against Levante in a 6-0 win for Real on 12 May 2022. Real would later capture the La Liga title, Ancelotti’s first with the club.

Champions League glory

In the same month, Vinicius scored a Champions League goal-of-the-season contender in a 3-4 defeat against Manchester City. While Real lost the first leg, a spectacular return for the Lo Blancos in the second leg saw them book their berth in the Champions League final. Real were losing 3-5 on aggregate in the 89th minute of the second leg, but came back to win 6-5 on the night.

Vinicius’ biggest moment though came in the 2022 Champions League final on May 28, when he nodded home the only goal of the final to clinch Real’s 14th European title.

He also represented Brazil at the 2021 Copa America and ended as runner-up while he was part of the team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup as well. Brazil were eliminated in the quarterfinal stage while Vinicius scored his first FIFA World Cup goal in a 4–1 win against South Korea in the round of 16 on 5 December, also setting up Lucas Paquetá's goal.

In the current season, Vinicius has scored 10 La Liga and seven Champions goals before his side faced elimination from the latter competition at the hands of Manchester City.

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