Real Madrid set to beat rivals Barcelona to £38m signing of Flamengo starlet Vinicius Junior
La Liga giants battling head-to-head for the 16-year-old South American prodigy
REAL MADRID have reportedly beaten rivals Barcelona to the signing of Flamengo starlet Vinicius Junior.
The La Liga giants have both been chasing the 16-year-old starlet for a number of months.
That fee could rise up to a total of £51.5m dependant on how he performs at Real.
The Bernabeu outfit are ready to splash the cash in order to beat their bitter foes to the starlet – although he will not link-up with his team-mates immediately.
Junior is expected to stay on loan at Flamengo for another year before switching to Spain in 2018.
The versatile attacker can play anywhere across the front line and has been heralded as “the pearl” of Brazilian football.
Barcelona looked like they were leading the race to land the youngster a month ago.
The Catalans believed the lure of playing alongside Samba Boy icon Neymar would help to swing the deal in their favour.
But they, and a number of Premier League clubs, have been beaten to the punch.
Europe’s super clubs were desperate to get their hands on Junior after his impressive displays for his country at the South American Under-17 championships.
He was named the best player at the tournament and his seven goals led to him claiming the golden boot as his country won the competition.
Chelsea and Arsenal were linked with a potential move for the ace.
While Flamengo’s former president claimed that Manchester United representatives had also enquired about the striker.