Vinícius Júnior

Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior, known mononymously as Vinícius, is a Brazilian forward born on 12 July 2000 in São Gonçalo. He plays for La Liga club Real Madrid and for the Brazil national team. He is known for his pace, technique and dribbling.

France Football and L'Équipe include him among the 30 nominees on the men's Ballon d'Or 2026 shortlist, published in September 2026. He finished runner-up in the Ballon d'Or voting in 2024.

Vinícius made his senior debut for Flamengo at 16, and Real Madrid signed him in a £38 million deal, then a national record for a player under 18; he joined the club after his 18th birthday. In Madrid he has won two La Liga and Champions League doubles, scoring the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final and the second goal in the 2024 final, when he was named the competition's Player of the Season. He was named The Best FIFA Men's Player in 2024 and was in the FIFPRO World 11 in 2023 and 2024. With Brazil he won the South American U-17 Championship in 2017 as top scorer and has played at the 2022 and 2026 World Cups.