Vinícius Júnior: How to Develop a Galáctico

When Vinícius Júnior was introduced to the Real Madrid faithful at the Bernabeu in 2018, he brought with him an unspoken change to Real’s typical “Galáctico” approach to success. At 18, he was not the typical Real transfer target, he didn’t come after sustained success abroad such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Zinedine Zidane who defined the Galácticos era that brought Real sustained success and transformed their brand into the massive entity it is today.

He also didn’t come through the academy such as club legend Iker Casillas or more recent successes such as Marcos Llorente and Achraf Hakimi. Gone are the days when Real had the funds to recruit already-stars to help them compete in and win the most sought-after glories in club football.

Player Analysis: Marcos Llorente

The Real Madrid of today have to be shrewd and calculated in their approach to transfers and Vinícius was their first roll of the dice in this new direction. Some players come complete, others are projects, Vinícius is undoubtedly the latter.