Real Madrid: Vinicius Junior is still wildly underrated in one respect

The 2021-2022 season is becoming quite the breakout season for Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior. After three promising seasons of dribbling and effort, Vini has put his finishing woes behind him and has been one of the most impressive attacking players in European football over the first couple of months of the campaign.

Vini’s latest triumph was a two-goal performance against Shakhtar Donetsk, which included an assist for compatriot Rodrygo Goes. The left winger was one of the standout players of the week in the Champions League – if not the best player as a whole – and he is now sitting on an average of 1.08 goal contributions per 90 minutes in all competitions.

Yet despite these performances and Vini’s reputation, he remains incredibly undervalued by Transfermarkt. If you look at the list of Real Madrid players by transfer value, Vinicius is tied with left back Ferland Mendy in sixth. Casemiro, Fede Valverde, Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba, and Eduardo Camavinga are all rated as more valuable than Vinicius. According to Transfermarkt, he is only worth 50 million euros, as compared to the 45 million euros Real paid to Flamengo for him.

Take nothing away from those players. All of them are either world-class or will be world-class in a few years. But Vinicius is a 21-year-old inverted winger who dribbles past defenders for fun, never tires, contributes defensively, creates chances, and is on pace to score roughly 30 goals in the 2021-2022 campaign.

Vinicius Junior has been one of the elite in his position this season

If you would rather extend the comparison to players at similar positions outside Real Madrid, there are 15 attacking wingers worth more than 50 million euros in the eyes of Transfermarkt. Despite both being older than Vini, Federico Chiesa and Mikel Oyarzabal are both worth 70 million euros. Among those worth 50 million and equal to Vinicius? Christian Pulisic, Mason Greenwood, and Ousmane Dembele.

Vinicius has been light years ahead of these three players in 2021-2022. Dembele has plenty of talent, but his injuries and age (24) should put him behind the Real Madrid man. Greenwood is promising and a great finisher, but Vini is a much more well-rounded player. And Pulisic’s value seems inflated, given his own consistency issues and the fact that he is 23.

There are many great attacking wingers, and Vinicius has been outplaying most of them this season. It is fair to wait until saying he is on the level of a Jack Grealish or a Raheem Sterling, since those players have been class for years. But is it really fair to rate Vini on the same level as players who are both older and less productive? Would someone actually spend more money to buy Alaba or Casemiro than Vini?

I have a hard time justifying those rankings. Vinicius Junior is having a splendid season for Real Madrid, and his goals are no fluke. He has solved that mental block, and so the goals seal the rest of his game, which was already quite good coming into 2021-2022. Right now, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe are the only inverted wingers with a higher WhoScored rating in their leagues than Vinicius. And in the Champions League, only Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez rate higher. Now that’s what I would call being in quite the company.

As Vini’s performances continue to receive plaudits and as the goals and assists continue to flow, the valuations will surely readjust. But as of right now, Vini’s transfer value is a sign that the Real Madrid star remains underrated and disrespected by some of the mainstream crowd. With another big Clasico performance, perhaps, that could change very soon.