Real Madrid defender Marcelo accidentally revealed the number Vinicius Junior will wear this upcoming season with the club.
Although Vinicius was using number 28 during this pre-season, this screenshot taken from Marcelo’s Instagram Story shows that Real’s dressing room has already been taken care of to place Vinicius below the number 16 locker, which also features his name.
This means that Vinicius will almost surely be a full member of Real Madrid’s first-team this season. However, he might spend quite some time on the bench until Lopetegui needs to make rotations.
Vinicius has completed some encouraging performances this pre-season but it’s also quite clear that he still lacks the experience to be a relevant player next season. He will need time to adapt to the style of football played in Europe and that’s why a loan deal would’ve made sense for him, although that possibility was ultimately ruled out a few weeks ago.