Vinicius Junior came to Madrid for the season with braces remaining on his teeth. But his playing is far from childish as he makes his Champions League debut in the knockout stage.
Vinicius Junior had a gleaming smile as he landed at Madrid’s Barajas airport in the summer, only a few days after turning 18.
Real Madrid, his new employers, were overjoyed to see him in such good spirits. However, after ultimately revealing him to the public, the team demanded that the braces on his teeth be removed.
The Spanish giants were concerned that the Brazilian striker may be gravely injured if he was hit with an elbow during a game, and he was a valuable new asset that needed to be protected.
He had made his Flamengo first-team debut only ten days before and had played 17 minutes of professional football.
Even though international transfer laws meant he could only move to Europe once he reached 18, Real Madrid knew they had to get him.
Vinicius went on to play over 70 games for Flamengo, a club in sorrow following the deaths of ten young players at their youth team training center on Friday.
