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SOCCER

Vinícius Júnior surpasses Ronaldo at Real Madrid

The young Brazilian overtakes his compatriot with 178 games for Madrid. He is fourth on the list behind Marcelo, Roberto Carlos and Casemiro.

Antonio Villar
Update:
Vinicius, in the match of the second day of the Champions League against Leipzig (2-0)
NurPhotoGetty

Vinícius Júnior is on course to break every record with Real Madrid. The young Brazilian became the fourth Brazilian for all-time appearances with the club on Wednesday (178). He surpassed Ronaldo Nazário’s 177 games against RB Leipzig. He is now behind only three other Real legends: Marcelo (546), Roberto Carlos (527) and Casemiro (336). The two full-backs are the second and third on the list of all-time appearances for foreign players, behind Benzema (611). The Brazilian list is completed by Savio (160), Robinho (137), Kaká (120), Rodrygo (114) and Militao (96).

Vinícius’ start to the season has been a carbon copy of last season. The Real Madrid number 20 has played in all eight matches of the 2022-23 campaign, playing 686 minutes. He has scored five goals and provided three assists, including the one he provided for Benzema to win the first trophy of the season: the European Super Cup against Eintracht (2-0).

In the 2021-22 season, he started the LaLiga campaign on the bench, and since his goals against Alavés and Levante (twice), the Brazilian has not stopped growing. He went from scoring 14 goals in three seasons to an astonishing 22 goals, 16 assists and four penalties last season. 27.5% of the club’s goals and 16.9% of the assists were registered by Vini. These numbers have increased his value by 150 per cent. Since arriving at Madrid in 2018, he has played 11,241 minutes, scored 41 goals, assisted 46 times and has won seven titles. He is the third most valuable player (€100m) on Transfermarkt, behind Mbappé (€160m) and Haaland (€150m).

A Champions League for the history books

The memory of last season’s Champions League is still fresh in Vinícius’ mind. The goal at the Etihad, the assists against PSG and Chelsea to start two historic comebacks and, to top it off, he scored the goal in Paris to help lift Real Madrid’s 14th Champions League. That earned him the title of the best young player of last season’s Champions League, an award that was presented in the final of the Super Cup against Eintracht. Vini is ambitious and wants more: “I want to win five or six Champions League titles with this club,” he said in an interview for UEFA.

According to Olocip, the leading company in Artificial Intelligence in the world of football, the value of the Brazilian is expected to reach 0.62. With his eyes on more titles and the Ballon d’Or, Vini has the world at his feet.