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When Vinícius Júnior joined Real Madrid in July 2018, aged 18, there was one question nobody could answer: just how far could that young Brazilian go?
The transfer, finalised a year before his arrival in Spain, had been the second most expensive sale in the history of Brazilian football at the time, second only to Neymar, and the highest fee ever paid by a club for a player under the age of 19.
It was, therefore, a huge gamble on a player who had only just made his professional debut for Flamengo.
Eight years on, the figures tell an impressive story.
As of September 2026, Vini has played 378 matches for Real Madrid, scored 129 goals, provided 102 assists and won 14 trophies. These include two Champions Leagues, three La Liga titles, three Club World Cups, three Spanish Super Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and one Copa del Rey.
And perhaps most impressive of all is that he is still only 26 years old.
But reaching these figures was far from easy.
From prospect to first-team regular
Vini was given the number 28 shirt when he arrived in Madrid and began his career at Real Madrid Castilla, having played just a few pre-season matches.
Things began to change when Santiago Solari took charge of the first team in November 2018. The manager already knew Vini from Castilla and quickly began to give the Brazilian more opportunities.
His first goal came later that same month, against Real Valladolid.
In that first season, however, Vini had to overcome a series of obstacles. In March 2019, he tore a ligament in the defeat to Ajax and was sidelined for the rest of the season. That same month, Solari was sacked and replaced by Zinedine Zidane.
The Frenchman recognised the Brazilian’s potential, but did not yet see him as ready to fulfil it consistently.
Vini was even left out of some match-day squads, and a loan move was considered. Ronaldo, then president of Valladolid, expressed an interest in bringing him to the club.
Florentino Pérez, however, decided that Vini was not for sale.
It was a decision that would change the history of Real Madrid.
In the 2019–20 season, Vini scored three goals in 29 La Liga matches and won his first Spanish title.
The following year, whilst still facing criticism over his inconsistency, he began to make significant strides. He scored twice against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals and, shortly afterwards, a two-goal performance against Levante helped cement his place in the starting line-up.
There was, however, still one glaring gap in his statistics: his finishing.
The breakthrough
The arrival of Carlo Ancelotti for the 2021–22 season changed everything.
Vini went from being a talented but inconsistent player to one of Real Madrid’s key attacking weapons.
He scored 22 goals and provided 16 assists that season, figures that helped the club win La Liga and the Champions League.
In the final against Liverpool, Vini scored the only goal of the match and secured Real Madrid’s 14th European title.
At the age of 21, he had already scored in a Champions League final.
And that was to be just the first.
Vini summed up the significance of that moment: “I’m fulfilling my dream, my family’s dream, and the dream of every player who dreams big – who dreams of playing in this shirt.” (TNT Sports Brasil)
“Of course I want to score more goals and provide more assists, but the main thing for me is to play well for my team.” – Vinícius Júnior
A few months later, he made it clear that he didn’t want that to be the peak.
In September, he said: “I hope this is the first of many seasons with plenty of goals and a long career. I want to stay here, like Luka Modrić, Marcelo, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos… Of course I want to score more goals and provide more assists, but the main thing for me is to play well for my team. I want to keep improving and achieving great things for this club that gives me so much, for our fans.” (GE)
The statement ended up being almost a prediction of what was to come.
More goals, more titles, more history
In the 2022–23 season, Vini took another leap forward.
He scored 23 goals and provided 20 assists across all competitions, including two goals in the Club World Cup final against Al-Hilal.
In the Champions League, he scored seven times and provided five assists, as well as being named in the Team of the Season.
At the end of that campaign, following the departures of Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema, Vini inherited the number 7 shirt, previously worn by Raúl and Cristiano Ronaldo.
At the age of 22, he was no longer just a promising young player.
He was one of Real Madrid’s stars.
And then came his best season yet.
2023–24: the definitive breakthrough
Vini scored 24 goals and provided nine assists in 39 matches during the 2023–24 season.
In the Spanish Super Cup, he scored a hat-trick against Barcelona.
In the Champions League, he scored six goals and provided five assists in just 10 matches.
Most importantly, he scored in the final.
Against Borussia Dortmund, Vini scored the second goal in the 2–0 victory and won his second Champions League title.
As a result, at the age of 23, he became the youngest player in history to score in two finals of the competition, beating Lionel Messi’s previous record by 13 days.
He also became one of only a handful of Real Madrid players to have scored in more than one Champions League final in the modern era.
It was the moment when the statistics began to confirm what the football had already shown: Vini had become one of the best players in the world.
The statistics of a star player
The following season did not end with another Champions League title, but Vini continued to deliver.
He scored 22 goals and provided 16 assists across all competitions, including eight goals in the Champions League – his record in a single campaign.
He also scored his only hat-trick in the competition to date, in the 5–2 victory over Borussia Dortmund.
In January 2025, he reached another historic milestone: he became only the 23rd player to score over 100 goals for Real Madrid.
The following month, he was named captain for the first time.
And the numbers kept rising.
In the 2025–26 season, he scored 22 goals in 53 matches, taking his tally for Real Madrid to 128 goals by the end of his eighth season at the club. He also provided 10 assists.
In total, his Real Madrid record had already reached 375 appearances, 128 goals and 100 assists when he renewed his contract in August 2026.
Since then, Vini has started his ninth season and has quickly reached 129 goals and 378 appearances for the club.
This places him amongst the greatest Brazilians in Real Madrid’s history.
Brazilian players with the most goals for Real Madrid:
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Vinícius Júnior – 129
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Ronaldo – 104
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Rodrygo – 71
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Roberto Carlos – 69
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Marcelo - 38
And Vini also ranks third amongst Brazilians for assists:
Brazilian players with the most assists for Real Madrid:
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Roberto Carlos – 117
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Marcelo – 104
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Vinícius Júnior – 102
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Rodrygo – 57
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Kaká - 39
In terms of number of appearances, he is already the third Brazilian to have made the most appearances for the club:
Brazilians with the most appearances for Real Madrid:
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Marcelo – 546
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Roberto Carlos – 527
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Vinícius Júnior – 378
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Casemiro – 336
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Rodrygo – 297
And there is one statistic that sums up his impact in the biggest matches: Vini scored in the last two Champions League finals won by Real Madrid, in 2022 and 2024. The club itself highlights his decisive contribution to these two triumphs.
A legacy still in the making
His individual statistics have also begun to reflect his status.
Vini has been nominated for the ‘Ballon d'Or’ five times as a Real Madrid player and finished second in 2024.
But perhaps the most important statistic is another: at the age of 26, Vini has already won 14 titles for the club – a collection of honours that many players fail to achieve in an entire career.
For Vini, however, it still doesn’t seem to be enough.
“I’ve already achieved a great deal, but my dreams are far from over.” – Vinícius Júnior
After extending his contract until June 2032, he summed up his desire to continue building this legacy: ‘Eight years at the Bernabéu are very few; another six years and then forever.’ (The New York Times)
And when asked what else he still wanted to achieve, his reply was equally revealing: “I’ve already achieved a great deal, but my dreams are far from over.” (GQ)
That is precisely where the figures take on even greater significance.
Vini is no longer just one of the best players in the world.
He is already part of Real Madrid’s history.
But his own career shows that he is not merely interested in reaching a certain number of goals or titles. The aim is to stay. It is to keep winning. It is to draw closer to the great names he admires. It is to achieve great things for the club and, above all, to leave a legacy that outlives his time at the Bernabéu.
That is why, perhaps, the most important statistic of all remains to be seen.
How much more will Vini go on to achieve for Real Madrid?
The answer will depend on the chapters to come.
But one thing is already clear: at the age of 26, Vinícius Júnior has already built a story worthy of a legend.
And he hasn’t finished writing it yet.
