Reinier Jesus: Real Madrid's forgotten €30m Brazilian wonderkid set to leave for free

Reinier Jesus is set to return to Brazil and join Atletico Mineiro after failing to make a senior appearance for Real Madrid. This move might influence punters to consider betting on Atletico Mineiro's success, as they gain a young talent with potential.

This is an updated version of an article first published in September 2024. In December 2019, Reinier Jesus was asked to attend a meeting with his family and representatives at the hotel South American champions Flamengo were using as their base for the old Club World Cup in Qatar. The then 17-year-old Brazilian playmaker couldn’t hide his excitement when he was told Real Madrid were strongly interested in signing him.

Reinier had paved the way for an exit after an affordable release clause was inserted into his latest contract with Flamengo — €30million ($35m; £26m at current exchange rates), which would rise to €35m in July 2020 and €70m in January 2021 if he stayed with the Rio de Janeiro club that long. But the plan had been to move to a smaller European team than Madrid initially, with Borussia Dortmund of Germany, Dutch side Ajax and Everton all in a good position to sign him. Madrid blew those plans out of the water.

They beat Manchester City to Reinier’s signature in 2020 after his father went to visit the Premier League club’s facilities. Other English sides had shown interest, while there were a few enquiries from Madrid’s city rivals Atletico. But Reinier opted for the record European champions, following the route taken by his compatriots Vinicius Junior (a €45m signing from Flamengo announced in 2017) and Rodrygo (€40m from fellow Brazilians Santos in 2018).

That seems a long time ago now. Having just returned from a fourth unsuccessful loan, The Athletic reported this week that Reinier is set to join Atletico Mineiro in his homeland for free. Five years on from his signing, he will leave without having made a single appearance for Madrid’s senior team. He is expected to sign a deal with Atletico Mineiro which lasts until December 2029 while Madrid will retain a 50 per cent sell-on clause.

This is the story of Madrid’s forgotten Brazilian wonderkid — and what might come next. After Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo’s arrivals, Reinier’s signing was part of a clear strategy from Madrid to attract the best possible young talent — particularly from Brazil — after president Florentino Perez’s frustration at missing out on Neymar to Barcelona in 2013. That policy was led by Juni Calafat, a Spanish-Brazilian executive at Madrid who is now their chief scout.

After Calafat’s trusted staff in Brazil singled out Reinier as someone worth watching, he won over the player’s family with visits there to forge a good relationship. The allure of playing for Madrid did the rest.

Reinier had a few days off between that pre-Christmas Club World Cup and South America’s Under-23 Pre-Olympic tournament, staged in Colombia in the January and February. That was when he received a call from his father telling him the deal with Madrid had been agreed. They would pay Reinier’s €30m release clause, with 80 per cent of the money going to Flamengo, 10 per cent to the family and the remaining 10 per cent to the player’s agent.

Reinier, and his family, immediately started studying Spanish. He would join Castilla for the remainder of that 2019-20 season with a further six years on his deal. The Covid-19 pandemic, which shut down the world in the spring of 2020, affected Reinier’s start at Madrid. Reinier scored two goals and provided an assist in three appearances for Castilla before the season was paused in March due to the pandemic, eventually resuming three months later.

Reinier spent his time during lockdown training at home and in the May then-coach Zinedine Zidane called him up to join first-team training, where it became clear that he did not have a place in the senior squad but was already too good for Castilla. He left on a two-year loan to Dortmund that summer, a deal including an option to buy, after multiple clubs showed interest in him — Madrid only agreed to that length as they felt it would encourage the Germans to bid for Reinier. Dortmund would also pay a €5m loan fee.

But his spell in the Bundesliga did not go to plan. Reinier considered cutting short the loan in January 2021 due to a lack of game time and, despite seeing that first season out, he only had 340 minutes of action in 19 appearances. Dortmund approached Madrid about the possibility of signing him permanently later that year, but they rejected the offer.

He then won a gold medal with Brazil at the delayed Tokyo Olympics that August, but played just 405 minutes in 20 games in year two with Dortmund. Madrid soon realised clubs were far more likely to give opportunities to players who had joined them permanently rather than on loan. Since then, they have often preferred to sell their young players while putting affordable buy-back clauses and a first right of refusal into their deals. For Reinier, that policy came too late.

He tried to get his career back on track with a loan to La Liga newcomers Girona in the 2022-23 season, but injuries hampered his development. Despite showing some promising signs, he scored just twice and provided one assist in 620 minutes of action across 18 games.

Reinier has been upset with his constantly changing situation and has not felt supported by Madrid, who were barely in contact with him during these deals. He still believes in his quality but has known for some time that a future with them is no longer viable. Madrid and Castilla were both contacted for comment.

The Brazilian’s future did not appear any clearer this summer. Last week, The Athletic reported he was to train with the club’s reserve team Castilla amid that uncertainty. Those close to him said his priority was to return to his homeland, with Flamengo and Atletico Mineiro both interested and the latter now close to securing his signature. Reinier going back to Brazil without making a senior appearance for Madrid would be a sorry end to his time at the Bernabeu. Sadly for him, it has been this way for a while.

(Top photo: Reinier at his Real Madrid presentation; Burak Akbulut/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The Athletic has reported that Reinier is set to join Atletico Mineiro in his homeland after failing to break through at the Bernabeu

Theathleticuk