Ever since the terrible experience of being beaten by Barcelona to the signing of Neymar, Real Madrid have kept a keen eye on Brazilian football with the hope of discovering the next superstar from the South American nation. In the last two years, Madrid has poached Vinicius Junior, and Rodrygo Goes and the latest Samba boy at the Santiago Bernabeu goes by the name, REINIER.
Here in this article, TOP SOCCER BLOG brings you all you need to know about the 18-year-old youngster.
Reinier Jesus Carvalho was born on the 19th of January 2002 in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia. His father is a former Brazilian Futsal legend, Mauro Brasilia. Reinier started his career at Vasco da Gama’s academy in 2011 at the age of 9. He later played at the academy of Botafogo and Fluminense before finally settling down at Flamengo’s academy.
He has represented Brazil at U-15 and U-17 level(where he captained the team), he is currently playing for the nation’s U-23 side—who are trying to qualify for this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
On the 31st of July 2019, Reinier made his professional debut for Flamengo in a Copa Libertadores clash against Emelec at the Maracana stadium. Due to his burgeoning profile, Flamengo tied him to a new long-term contract on the 9th of November 2019, the new contract runs until 2024 and included a massive €35 million release clause.
On the 20th of January 2020 (a day after his 18th birthday), Real Madrid activated his €35m release clause and tied him to a 6-year deal till 2026.
In total, he played 14 games for Flamengo —starting 8— but contributed an impressive stat of 6 goals and 2 assists.
Since making his debut, he has never been on the losing side, with Flamengo not tasting defeat in all the 14 games Reinier featured in!
With Flamengo, he won the Brazilian Serie A and the Copa Libertadores
(In South America, the Copa Libertadores is the equivalent of the UEFA Champions League)
Due to the fact that the non-European spot in Real Madrid’s first team has been filled up, Reinier will play for the club’s team B (Real Madrid Castilla), which is being coached by club legend, Raul.
Reinier has been compared with Brazilian legend, Kaka, due to their similarity on the ball. Having started his career as a defensive midfielder, Reinier is not your typical attacking midfielder as he likes tracking back to win the ball.
Announcing Reinier’s arrival on their website, Real Madrid stated that his “major strengths lie in his technical ability and creative talent on the ball.”
With Reinier’s signing, and that of his predecessors (Vinicius & Rodrygo), Madrid are hoping that very soon, they will be able to boast of the best talent from Brazil and also banish the agony of missing out on Neymar.
Written by Muftaudeen Abdullahi Ishola
