‘Initial Agreement’—How Vinicius Junior Almost Joined Barcelona

Real Madrid’s No. 7 had the opportunity to sign with bitter rivals Barcelona.

Real Madrid beat out Barcelona for Vinicius Junior. | Alex Livesey/Danehouse/Getty Images

Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed Vinicius Junior was in the early stages of signing with the Catalans before Real Madrid swooped in.

The Brazilian famously put pen to paper at age 16 to join the 15-time European champions from Flamengo. Once he came of age in July 2018, Vinicius Jr moved to the Spanish capital and the rest is history.

Two Champions League titles, three La Liga titles and 127 goals later, the winger is among the best players in world and remains the face of Real Madrid—even after Kylian Mbappé transferred from Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the 2024–25 season.

But there was a possible reality in which Vinicius Jr donned the Blaugrana shirt instead of a white one.

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How Real Madrid Swayed Vinicius Jr From Barcelona

Vinicius Jr led Real Madrid to their two most recent Champions League triumphs. | Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto/Getty Images

It comes as no surprise that Barcelona were interested in Vinicius Jr, whose talent was apparent even at the age of 16. Yet many perhaps might be taken aback by how far negotiations got between the Brazil international and the Catalan outfit.

“Vinicius was of interest to the club, we spoke with his family, with his agents, and there was indeed an initial agreement,” Bartomeu, who was Barcelona president from 2014 to 2020, told ESPN Deportes.

“Madrid possibly made a better offer than Barça and took Vinicius.”

Vinicius Jr ultimately agreed a €46 million ($54.3 million at today’s rate) deal with Los Blancos, but he previously revealed Barcelona offered more money for him in an interview with Cadena SER back in 2019. In the end, talks with Marcelo and Casemiro helped convince the teenager to choose Real Madrid.

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Bartomeu: Barcelona Also Had a Shot at Kylian Mbappé

Kylian Mbappé had interest from Barcelona before he joined PSG. | Dennis Agyeman/Europa Press/Getty Images

Not only did Barcelona miss out on Vinicius Jr, but they also could not secure Kylian Mbappé’s signature over Paris Saint-Germain.

“Monaco was asking for very high figures that Barça could pay at that time. We were the club in the world that earned the most money, the one with the best ratios. Well, the truth is that we are in a very, very good financial situation,” Bartomeu said.

“I remember speaking with Mbappé’s father a couple of times, but Paris Saint-Germain put a lot of pressure on Monaco, and I think Mbappé also preferred to go to PSG, a French team.”

PSG would up paying €180 million for the permanent transfer of Mbappé in Feb. 2018.

Although signing either Vinicius Jr or Mbappé could have undoubtedly changed the trajectory of Barcelona, the club might ultimately consider itself better off in the long run, considering they now have one of the best attacks in Europe, led by Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.

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