LifeBogger presents the Full Story of a Football Genius who is best known by the nickname “Vini“.

Our Vinicius Junior Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts bring to you a full account of notable events from his childhood time to date.

The analysis involves his family background, life story before fame, rise to fame story, relationship, and personal life. In addition, other off-pitch facts are little known about him.

Yes, everyone knows about his great dribbles, which makes him the heir to Neymar.

However, not many soccer lovers have read a detailed version of Vinicius Junior’s Biography, which is quite interesting. Now without further ado, let’s Begin.

Vinicius Junior Childhood Story – Early Life and Family Background:

For starters of his Biography, his full name is Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior. Vinicius Junior was born on the 12th day of July 2000 to his beautiful family pictured below.

He was born to his dad, Vinicius José Paixão de Oliveira and his mum, Tatiana Vinicius in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Coming from a humble family with two brothers and a sister, it was not always easy for Vinicius Junior’s parents to put food on the table.

However, with support from his hardworking uncle Ulysses, things went well.

As a child, Vini was known to be very calm, someone who would play video games and would be on his mobile phone all day.

Back then, he played with many teams on FIFA, especially FC Barcelona, where he enjoyed using Lionel Messi.

Asides from being a video game freak, young Vini also played football early on. According to Vinicius;

I was always playing with my friends on the street and the reasons I would only go home is to  play FIFA, eat or sleep.

Vinicius Junior Biography – Career Buildup:

Vinicius’ first experience with football started at Sao Goncalo, his rundown suburb of Rio de Janeiro.

Did you know?… Sao Goncalo is at the heart of Brazil’s evangelical revolution and adjacent to it are the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay. Only natives from a poor family background would live in this area.

It was at Sao Goncalo Vinicius Junior got to know and fell in love with “chapeau”, a football skill that involves flicking the ball over an opponent’s head in a humiliating fashion.

This led to the discovery of his Idol “Robinho“, the first person he had seen who made such a glorious move. See a video showing his beloved chapeau move from Robinho below.

The Chapeau move ignited Vini’s love for Futsal football. For all football registrations he made since then, Vinicius would go on to put Robinho as his mentor.

Vinicius Junior Biography Facts – Life with Futsal:

Just like any other Brazilian kid, Vinicius Junior started his education in the year 2006 (age 6). He began as a student at one of Flamengo’s 125 schools in Brazil.

After registration, his parents waited until he was seven before they allowed him to begin his success story.

That year, Vini got registered with Futsal at Canto do Rio, a famous club in Niteroi, south of Sao Goncalo.

Vini’s futsal training ground was a short ferry ride away from Rio de Janeiro. At first, things went well as his parents could afford to transport their son.

However, it took no time before finances started depleting for Vinicius Junior’s family. Hence it was hard to transport their son, and options had to be sorted out.

Vinicius had to stay with his uncle, Ulysses, in Piedade, a municipality in São Paulo which is much closer to his training ground. There he felt comfortable and took his futsal playing ground as his second home.

While in his futsal academy, Vinicius Junior rose above his team’s ranks and became the best player in his age group.

It took no time before he got awarded the No 10 shirt, thanks to him being accepted as the playmaker of his team as seen below.

Asides from dribbling, Vinicius also learned how to exploit tight spaces. This improved his agility, reflexes and finally unlocked his footballing potential at a young age. 

Vinicius Junior Biography – Joining Flamengo:

In 2009 when Vinícius was nine years old, his parents took him for a trial at Flamengo academy. This was a time Vinicius Junior’s Parents had hoped to convert their son from a Futsal to an academy football player.

The club saw potential in him but told him to return when he was a year older. In order not to stay idle, Vinicius attempted to go back to Futsal on a permanent basis.

This would have ruined the hope of becoming a successful footballer. Thanks to his parents, this move was averted as he later chose not to return for futsal and decided to wait.

In the month of August 2010, Vinicius took the trial test for Flamengo’s youth football team and passed it.

As a reward for passing the trial, his dad bought his first football ticket to see Flamingo senior tea play at the prestigious Estádio Luso Brasileiro.

The Adjustments:

While at Flamengo, Vinicius became a young star who would only see his life changing every day. He joined his Flamengo teammates in his club’s training facility, which was around 70km from his residence.

The early days at Flamengo saw Vinicius Junior family forced to make more monies for their son’s upkeep, knowing it was an important stage in his life.

While his dad went on to seek a better job in Sao Paulo, his mum had to relocate to join her son, who was still living with his uncle. At last, his dad secured his job, and providing financial support became a norm.

While at the upscale area of Gavea, Vinicius Junior’s mum would take a bus alongside her son, accompanying him for practice.

While her son would train with his teammates, Tatiana would wait patiently for him in the same park in order to witness his return.

As time went on, things became fairly easier for the Vinicius family. A van was purchased, which allowed Vinicius to be driven straight to Ninho do Urubu, his academy ground.

Vinicius Junior Biography Facts – Growing Up and Rise to Fame:

Upon registering for Flamengo, Vinicius indicated on his application that he was a left-back. This was a false declaration.

However, it took no time before it became obvious that he was an attacker and not a left-back, as recently claimed.

This was evident as he single-handedly led his team’s frontline to his first title medal as a youth. Below is little Vinicius having a feel at his first medal.

Since the victory medals, everyone in the club including his youth manager became aware of a jewel in their possession. Vinicius did get not only the player of the tournament award, but also the golden boot.

Vinicius Junior Biography – The Advancements:

The professional debut was finally made for the Flamengo side after a decade since his father took him to Flamengo’s school in Sao Goncalo.

This happened in the year 2017, the most memorable year in his life. Seeing him making his debut, Tim Vickery of ESPN FC once made a joke of it, saying;

“Vinicius on his debut still looked a little bit like a ball boy who had run onto the field when no one was looking.”

Such a harsh comparison immediately ended after Vinicius Junior proved himself to be the most popular person in the field.

Tim Vickery was shocked to start seeing the young Brazilian banging goals and celebrating with a unique style for his Flamengo side.

Just two days after Vinicius’ professional debut, Flamengo announced the renewal of his contract. This saw his release clause rising from €30 to €45 million.

The decision was made because Flamengo board members anticipated harassment by European clubs.

Did you know?… Manchester United was reportedly one of the first clubs that tried to acquire his availability and possibly lure him into the theatre of dreams.

Unfortunately, Man United chairman Ed Woodward didn’t have much success negotiating with Flamengo, and transfer talks didn’t get far.

Vinicius Junior Biography – The Tournament:

That same year, in March 2017, the South American U-17 Championship came, and Vinicius was invited to represent Brazil.

In the tournament, Vinicius introduced himself to South America by scoring seven goals as Brazil won the tournament for a record 12th time.

Vinícius Júnior, after winning the trophy, wasn’t just named the tournament’s best player. He also danced his way into becoming their top goal-scorer with seven goals.

Did you know?… During the tournament in a game between Brazil and Paraguay, Vinicius produced three beautiful chapeaus in quick succession and subsequently collected the ball with his right shoulder. Watch the video below.

If Chapeau movie hadn’t already been trademarked, it would have been trademarked right there and then.

Vinicius Junior Biography – The European Hunt:

Just after the tournament, top European clubs started complaining about the high price tag for Vinicius. They claimed he was just a teenager who had barely kicked a ball at the professional level.

Football scouts also claimed that his under-17 football provided little or no measure of his future.

These arguments were made to find reasons to justify the high price tag placed on him and possibly see it reduced. As regards his skills, it’s hard for them to justify his €45 million costs.

Despite the transfer battles, European clubs like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid became willing to roll their dice. They were both willing to pay €45 million for Vinicius’ services under some conditions.

Both teams were willing to pay two-thirds of the money at first and the other instalment to be paid once he proved himself to be a top flier in Spain.

The Decision:

It didn’t take long for Real’s bitter rivals Barcelona to emerge on the scene as the first choice for Vinicius Junior. This was owing to the fact that Vinicius had loved FC Barcelona both on reality and FIFA.

It was also rumoured in Brazil that Neymar himself had contacted Vinícius to extol the virtues of Camp Nou.

However, FC Barcelona proved unwilling to match his astronomic release clause. The transfer was progressing well, with most of the loose ends tied up thanks to the inflated price tag and his age creating problems.

As at the time, FC Barcelona was still deciding on the 16-year-old sensation, Real Madrid stepped in with full force. They went ahead to pay €46 million and finally won the race.

Instead of travelling more than 8,000 kilometres to Spain, Vinicius was allowed to stay back in Brazil to develop at Flamengo until July 2018.

Immediately after signing for Real Madrid, rumours began flying that Vinicius Junior’s Family was behind the move and not him.

Also, owing to the fact that he never wanted Real Madrid. After an interview, his uncle Ulysses claimed Vinicius was the one who spoke to him at the time of making his decision. In his words;

I called him and said, ‘You have to decide.’ And his answer was: “Hala Madrid!” I swear to God, for my happiness. Besides, Casemiro and Marcelo also wanted Vinicius to come to Real Madrid claiming that they would help him.

Did you know?… Vinicius Junior’s transfer to Madrid became historical, and he got celebrated as the most expensive player under 18 years ever sold in football. The rest, as they say, is now history.

Vinicius Junior Love Life – Wife and Child:

The time he has to defend his hefty €46 million without a doubt comes with a responsibility and a price.

This, by implication, means he has to keep his relationship life very private. Questions about Vinicius Junior’s girlfriend or wife have generated some interesting views thanks to the photo below.

However, it is only a matter of time before proper facts about Vinicius Junior’s relationship status unveil themselves.

Personal Facts:

Vinicius has an intuitive and sentimental personality. He is very emotional, sensitive, and cares deeply about matters about his family and home.

This is why he makes his personal life and relationship life very private. However, Vinicius once revealed some information about his personal life during an interview with a beautiful Spanish journalist.

The interview, which happened while he was 18, revealed some interesting facts about Vinicius Junior.

First, he doesn’t own a home, and his parents still collect and manage his finances. Secondly, he suffered racism even in his home country, Brazil.

Finally, his best childhood memories revolve around playing FIFA. This third Vinicius Junior fact came after he allowed the journalist to have a back camera shot of him playing FIFA.

Speaking of FIFA, many fans of the EA game confirmed via the career mode that Vinicius junior would reach the 93+ margin at the age of 22, which coincides with the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Vinicius Junior Personality Facts:

Junior does not drink alcohol, but only Coca-Cola. The first impression one would have about him suggests a rugged look, as seen in the photo below – with his best friend, Lucas Paqueta.

Talking about his personal facts, Vinicius once said;

“My father and my family protect me from everything bad, so I’m left with people who have always support me and have always been with me from the start.”

Fact Check:

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