Vinícius Júnior Religion

Early life

Vinícius Júnior was born Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior on July 12, 2000, in São Gonçalo to parents Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira and Fernanda Oliveira. He has an older sister, Alessandra, and two younger brothers, one of whom is known as Netinho. He began playing football at the age of six, when his father took him to play at a school affiliated with Flamengo. By the time he was 11, he had already won more than 20 youth titles. When Vinicius signed for Real Madrid, one of the first things he did was move his entire family out of São Gonçalo to the western part of Rio.

Salary & Contract

Vinícius Júnior’s current contract with Real Madrid runs until June 2027 and is valued at approximately €62.5 million, earning him an estimated gross salary of €20.83 million per season, or €400,000 per week. However, a new contract extension has been agreed upon, set to keep him at the club until 2030 and worth around €100 million net over five years. When he won the Best FIFA Men’s Player award, he earned an additional €2 million on top of his base salary for that season.

What religion is Vinícius Júnior?

Vinícius Júnior is a Brazilian professional footballer whose religious belief is Christian. Vinicius follows the Roman Catholic faith. He was raised in a Catholic family in São Gonçalo, Brazil. In a past interview with Marca, the Real Madrid star reportedly described himself as Catholic and said that “God is everything” to him. He also has a tattoo that translates to “Blessed by God.” Vinícius Júnior is a forward for Real Madrid as well as the Brazil national team, and he previously played for Flamengo. In 2024, Vinícius won the Best FIFA Men’s Player and the UEFA Champions League Player of the Season. In May 2017, Vinicius signed a six-year, €46 million deal with Real Madrid. In the 2021–22 season, he became Real Madrid’s second-best goalscorer with 22 goals in all competitions. Vinícius represented Brazil at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the Copa América.

Flamengo

Vinícius made his senior debut for Flamengo on 13 May 2017 as an 82nd-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw against Atlético Mineiro, becoming the club’s second-youngest player in history at 16 years old. Two days later, Flamengo announced a contract renewal, raising his release clause from €30 million to €45 million. He scored his first professional goal on 10 August 2017 in a Copa Sudamericana win over Palestino, netting it 30 seconds after coming on as a substitute. He went on to score eleven goals in 50 appearances for Flamengo before departing for Spain.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid signed Vinícius in May 2017 for a reported fee of €46 million, a national record for a player under 18 in Brazilian football. He made his debut on 29 September 2018 as a substitute against Atlético Madrid, becoming the first player born in or after 2000 to represent the club. In March 2020, he became the youngest foreign goalscorer in El Clásico history at 19 years and 230 days, beating Lionel Messi’s record. Real Madrid won the La Liga title in 2019–20, and after a second-place finish the following season, won another title in 2021–22 alongside the Champions League, with Vinícius scoring the winning goal in the final against Liverpool. He repeated the feat in 2024, scoring in the final again in a 2–0 victory against Borussia Dortmund, and was named Champions League Player of the Season. Despite finishing runner-up to Rodri in the 2024 Ballon d’Or, a decision that prompted Real Madrid to boycott the ceremony, Vinícius won The Best FIFA Men’s Player award for 2024. On 22 January 2025, he scored his 100th and 101st goals for Real Madrid in a 5–1 Champions League win over Red Bull Salzburg, becoming the 23rd player to reach that milestone for the club. He recorded 22 goals and 16 assists in 58 appearances in 2024–25 and has already surpassed 21 goals and 10 assists in 50 matches in the current 2025–26 season.

International career

Vinícius was a key player in Brazil’s youth team, winning the 2015 South American U-15 Championship and the 2017 South American U-17 Championship, where he finished as the tournament’s top scorer. He made his senior debut in September 2019 in a friendly against Peru and was included in Brazil’s 2021 Copa América squad, where the team reached the final before losing to Argentina. The next year, Vinícius scored his first senior international goal in March 2022 in a World Cup qualifier against Chile and was included in Brazil’s squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He scored his first World Cup goal in Brazil’s round of 16 win over South Korea before the team was eliminated by Croatia in the quarter-finals on penalties. At the 2024 Copa América, he scored two goals in a win against Paraguay. In June 2025, Vinícius scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Paraguay under newly appointed coach Carlo Ancelotti, securing Brazil’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life

In May 2025, Vinícius launched an anti-racism law office in partnership with his Instituto Vini Jr., revealed on May 13, the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Brazil and the date of his professional debut for Flamengo.

In 2024, he invested approximately £2.6 million to transform a closed school in his hometown of São Gonçalo into a social center providing free education, sport, and cultural activities to around 5,000 residents. That same year, a DNA test conducted in collaboration with the Brazilian Football Confederation revealed that his ancestors belong to the Tikar tribe in Cameroon, with the findings presented to him in a ceremony at Fonte Nova alongside his father and the CBF president.