Bartomeu reveals Barça’s near-miss on Vinicius Jr
Josep Maria Bartomeu has lifted the lid on one of the great “what if” stories of recent years at Barcelona: Vinicius Jr in blaugrana.
The former Barça president has revealed that the club had reached a preliminary agreement to sign the Brazilian winger while he was still a teenager at Flamengo, only for Real Madrid to swoop in and steal the deal at the last moment.
“Vinicius Jr was of interest to us (Barca),” Bartomeu told ESPN Deportes. “We spoke with his family, with his agents, and there was indeed an initial agreement. Madrid possibly made a better offer than Barca and took Vinicius.”
Barcelona had moved early. Convinced they were looking at one of the most gifted young forwards on the planet, they held talks with the player’s representatives and his family, trying to lock down his future before Europe’s heavyweights descended in force. Inside the club, Vinicius was viewed as a long-term pillar of their attack.
The plan never reached the finish line.
Real Madrid stepped in and closed a deal with Flamengo in May 2017 for the then‑16‑year‑old, with the transfer officially completed when he turned 18 in July 2018. Bartomeu insists Barcelona had made “significant progress” before Madrid’s late surge turned the tide.
The rest is now part of the modern history of the Bernabéu.
Vinicius has grown from raw prospect into one of Real Madrid’s most decisive players. Across eight seasons with the first team, he has racked up 127 goals and 100 assists in 372 appearances in all competitions, numbers that underline just how brutal his impact has been in the final third.
His performances have driven Madrid to multiple La Liga and Champions League titles, his darting runs and ruthless finishing becoming a recurring nightmare for defenders across Europe. On the biggest stage of all, he delivered the only goal in the 2022 Champions League final against Liverpool, a strike that crystallised his rise from promising teenager to global star.
Every time he cuts inside from the left and lashes a shot at goal, the question lingers in Barcelona circles: how different might the last few years have looked if that “initial agreement” had become a signature?
Barça look ahead with Flick – and a chance to clinch it against Madrid
While the Vinicius near-miss belongs to a previous era in the Camp Nou offices, the rivalry that shaped his career choice is very much alive on the pitch.
Hansi Flick’s Barcelona side stand 11 points clear at the top of La Liga with four matches remaining. One point is all they need to secure the title. And fate, as it often does in Spanish football, has delivered the perfect stage.
The Blaugrana can seal the championship at Camp Nou this weekend, against Real Madrid.
It is the kind of fixture that defines eras and rewrites narratives. On one side, the club that prised Vinicius away and watched him blossom into one of Europe’s most dangerous attackers. On the other, the club that almost had him, now marching towards a league crown under a new coach and a new project.
If Barcelona finish the job in front of their greatest rivals, the regret over the one that got away will not disappear. But it will be drowned out, at least for one night, by the roar of a stadium that knows titles, not near-misses, shape the future.
