Reinier Jesus was the only player Real Madrid signed in the spring of 2020.
Until the club secured the signature of David Alaba on a free transfer from Bayern Munich over the summer, he was the only player the club signed for 18 months.
However, he has not made his first-team debut in the two years since signing for Los Blancos, and his extended loan stint in Germany has been a resounding failure. Reinier has made 20 Bundesliga appearances (14 last year and 6 this year) and has only managed to score one goal and provide one assist.
Despite being left out of the squad consistently and making just two appearances since the beginning of December (Reinier has played 46 minutes in the last six matches), Real Madrid will let the player see out the remainder of his loan deal with Dortmund rather than recalling him to Madrid.
Seeing as Real Madrid’s squad cannot take on another non-EU player right now, bringing Reinier Jesus back would almost certainly leave him on the Castilla team. In three appearances for the youth squad in the spring/summer of 2020, Reinier scored twice.
Though that could be a better option than sitting on the bench with Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid has a huge decision that must be made this summer. So, by leaving Reinier where he is unhappy and underutilized, it tells me Real Madrid’s board is delaying that decision until the summer.
Real Madrid will give Reinier one more chance to prove himself next season when he goes on loan to a different club.
The plan now is to see if they can land another loan move for the Brazilian teenager in Spain or with a club that will use him and help him to grow as a professional.
When the loan deal with Dortmund was announced, I was a bit surprised. Was Dortmund hoping and/or expecting Reinier to be a roaring success like when they took Achraf Hakimi off of Real Madrid’s hands for two years?
Or, did they think Reinier was a better player than he has shown since arriving in Europe?
Whatever the case, these last 18 months in Germany have zapped the confidence out of the young Reinier Jesus.
He will soon start to feel the pressure from the higher-ups at the club if one, he can’t change the narrative surrounding his quality, and two, if he continues to waste away on the bench somewhere.
Real Madrid purchased the player for €30 million, so the chances of recouping that money are nothing more than a dream now. The player is valued at €23 million now and time is of the essence if he wants to become the next Vinicius Junior in the Spanish capital.