VINICIUS JUNIOR has made his debut at 16-years-old for Flamengo on the first day of the Brazilian League.
The wonderkid who has been described to be the ‘the next Neymar’ – and this was even before his first professional game.
Vinicius’ debut came in the 80th minute of the game yesterday where the forward came on to replace Orlando Berrio.
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The game between Flamengo and Atlético Mineiro in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A ended in a 1-1 draw and Vinicius did manage to swap his shirt with Robinho, whom he credits as his idol.
Real Madrid are poised to sign the new kid on the block and are reportedly willing to pay £38m.
Reports in Spain over the last few weeks have suggested that the deal is done to bring Flamengo’s teenage sensation to the Bernabeu in summer 2018.
Along with his debut yesterday, Vinicius Junior surpassed the record of current Barcelona star Neymar who made his debut aged 17 at Santos.
Vinicius has starred at youth level for Flamengo and for Brazil’s Under-17s but had not previously made a senior appearance.
He joined Flamengo aged just 10 having been spotted playing football on the streets of Sao Goncalo.
After progressing fast through the junior ranks, in March he helped Brazil U17 win the Under-17 South American Championship. Where he scored 7 goals and was named the tournament’s best player.