Lamine Yamal vs Vinícius Júnior
Born seven years and a day apart, they are mirror images who share a touchline in El Clásico, a left-footer on Barcelona's right and a right-footer on Real Madrid's left, each second in the Ballon d'Or once.
By the Oddsivio teamLast reviewed Stats updated
Last season · club and country together · official matches
Who does what?
Lamine Yamal created more chances and had more assists last season, and they were level on goals and pass completion.
Worth knowing: Lamine Yamal is doing this at 19; Vinícius Júnior is 26.
What separates them
2 of 4 pass both our tests: a big enough gap, and sure enough to hold.
- Yamal
- Vinícius Jr
- Typical forwards
- Goals per 90Level0.5025 goals0.5026 goals
Too small a gap against typical forwards to name a leader.
- Chances created per 90Yamal led2.6131 chances2.0106 chances
About 18 more chances created over 30 full matches for Yamal than Vinícius Jr.
Held up next season: about 9 in 10
- Assists per 90Yamal led0.4020 assists0.2513 assists
About two-thirds more assists: about 5 more over 30 full matches.
Held up next season: about 7 in 10
- Pass completion share of passes completedLevel81%50%100%82%
Too small a gap against typical forwards to name a leader. Pass completion depends a lot on role and team.
Per 90 = per 90 minutes played, so different minutes compare fairly.
Does it hold up?
Without penalties
Too close to call (19 goals to 21).
How they play · volume, not a lead
Lamine Yamal made far more interceptions (0.4 vs 0.1 per 90) and made far more tackles (1.5 vs 0.7 per 90) last season.
Why this comparison
They are the same kind of player seen in a mirror. Lamine Yamal is left-footed and plays from the right for Barcelona; Vinícius Júnior is right-footed and plays from the left for Real Madrid. A right winger and the opposing left winger share a touchline, so in a Clásico the two of them work the same flank in opposite directions. They also dribbled more than anyone else in the Spanish league in 2025–26: on ESPN's figures nobody attempted more take-ons in LaLiga than Yamal's 285, and Vinícius was second with 241.
The individual votes turned over in a year. Vinícius finished second in the 2024 Ballon d'Or, 41 points behind Rodri, at a ceremony Real Madrid chose not to attend, with Yamal eighth; FIFA then named Vinícius its best men's player for that year. In 2025 Yamal was second, behind Ousmane Dembélé, and Vinícius 16th. Both are on the 30-man list for 2026. That ceremony is set for 26 October 2026 in London, the day after the pair are due to meet at the Spotify Camp Nou.
Every number · last season
| YamalLamine Yamal | Stat | Vinícius JrVinícius Júnior |
|---|---|---|
4,468 | Minutes | 4,690 |
55 | Matches | 58 |
84.48Star · 40 club games · as of 2026-10-12 | Current squad importance | 79.31Star · 40 club games · as of 2026-10-12 |
0.5025 in total | goals per 90 | 0.5026 in total |
0.4020 in total | assists per 90 | 0.2513 in total |
2.6131 in total | chances created per 90 | 2.0106 in total |
2.9145 in total | shots per 90 | 2.7142 in total |
9.3463 in total | take-ons tried per 90 | 5.9306 in total |
1.572 in total | tackles per 90 | 0.738 in total |
0.420 in total | interceptions per 90 | 0.14 in total |
9.0446 in total | duels won per 90 | 5.8303 in total |
81% | pass completion | 82% |
Goals and assists are counted from match events; the other counts come from the provider's detailed match stats. Squad importance describes the current club role over its recent club-game window; it is independent of the comparison window.
Have they played each other?
Up to 3 October 2026 the two had been opponents in nine competitive games, every one a Barcelona–Real Madrid match, and the list below has all nine. Barcelona won five and Real Madrid four. Four of the nine were finals, three in the Spanish Super Cup and one in the Copa del Rey, and Yamal's side won three of them. Vinícius has five goals and four assists in the nine games, and Yamal three goals and two assists. Three of Vinícius's goals came in the first half of the January 2024 Super Cup final, before Yamal, then 16, came off the bench. Yamal's first Clásico goal, in a 4–0 win at the Bernabéu in October 2024, made him the fixture's youngest scorer at 17, and both his assists came in the 2025 Copa del Rey final, where Vinícius went off injured in the 89th minute and missed extra time. A tenth competitive Clásico in that time is not a meeting: Yamal was injured for Barcelona's 2–0 win in May 2026, the game that made them champions. For their countries they have met once, in a friendly, which the list leaves out because it counts competitive games: Spain 3–3 Brazil at the Bernabéu in March 2024, a match arranged as a stand against racism after abuse aimed at Vinícius. Their next meeting is due on 25 October 2026 at the Spotify Camp Nou. If both play, it will be the first time they have shared that pitch: Barcelona's two home league games among the nine were at the Olympic Stadium on Montjuïc.
Looking up their matches…
What the numbers don't show
The card above has them level on goals per 90 minutes in 2025–26, but Vinícius's came in two spells. ESPN counted 33 games for him under Xabi Alonso and he played only nine of them from start to finish; when Alonso left on 12 January 2026 he had six goals for the season. Under his successor, Álvaro Arbeloa, he was one of two strikers in 16 of his 25 starts in the line-ups we hold, and scored his other 16 club goals. Over the two years to October 2026 our line-up data has him 54% on the left wing and 43% at striker, under four club coaches; Yamal is 95% on the right wing, under one.
The card counts competitive internationals, so the 2026 World Cup sits inside both players' 2025–26 figures, in opposite ways. Vinícius scored four goals in Brazil's three group games and was FIFA's player of the match in each, then did not score in two knockout games as Brazil lost to Norway in the last 16. Yamal started the tournament as a substitute after a hamstring tear, scored once in eight games and was player of the match twice, and Spain won it. In club games alone our 2025–26 figures have Yamal on 0.58 goals per 90 minutes and Vinícius on 0.47.
Their absences have different causes. On Transfermarkt's record for 2024–25 and 2025–26 Yamal missed 25 games through injury and Vinícius seven, none of them in 2025–26, when Yamal had groin trouble in the autumn and tore a hamstring in April. Vinícius's gaps come more from cards: Transfermarkt lists five suspensions for him over those two seasons, costing six games, against one for Yamal, and ESPN's league figures show 16 yellow cards and a red for him and four yellows for Yamal. He is also fouled more often: 81 times in 2,825 LaLiga minutes in 2025–26 on ESPN's count, to Yamal's 52 in 2,268.
Estimated value
Lamine Yamal's Oddsivio estimated value is higher: €283m (#1 of 9,335 players valued) to Vinícius Júnior's €104m (#18 of 9,335 players valued). Yamal's estimate rose 36% since season start; Vinícius Jr's estimate dipped 14% since season start.Oddsivio estimated value — a model estimate from recent performance data, not betting advice.
Lamine Yamal
Oddsivio estimated value
€283m
+36% since season start
#1 of 9,335 players valued#1 of 506 in La Liga
Vinícius Júnior
Oddsivio estimated value
€104m
−14% since season start
#18 of 9,335 players valued#4 of 506 in La Liga
Questions fans ask
Who is better, Vinícius or Yamal?
We don't name one here; the card at the top shows who the numbers favour, if anyone, for whichever period you choose. Published rankings have changed hands: the Guardian's list of the world's 100 best players had Vinícius second and Yamal fourth at the end of 2024, then Yamal second and Vinícius 22nd a year later. A common fan argument is age against record. Vinícius turned 19 with 31 Real Madrid games and four goals, after 69 games for Flamengo, and no Brazil cap; Yamal turned 19 with 151 Barcelona games and 49 goals behind him and won the World Cup six days later. In September 2026 the newspaper Sport reported that Yamal had become the youngest player to reach 50 assists for a LaLiga club since at least 2013–14, at 19 years and 68 days, a mark Vinícius had set at 22. Vinícius's leap came at 21, with 22 goals in 2021–22 and the only goal of that season's Champions League final. He scored in the 2024 final as well, and by October 2026 Yamal had not played in one.
Who has the better stats, Vinícius or Yamal?
That depends on which season you look at. In 2025–26 Vinícius scored 22 goals in 53 games for Real Madrid and Yamal 24 in 45 for Barcelona. In LaLiga, on ESPN's figures, each scored 16, Vinícius in 36 games with five assists and Yamal in 28 with 11. Penalties hardly separate them: five of Vinícius's 22 club goals and six of Yamal's 24 came from the spot. The 2026/27 option in the card at the top switches every figure to the new season and is refreshed each night. Up to the international break that began on 21 September 2026, Yamal had eight goals in eight club games for Barcelona, who had won all seven of their league matches, and Vinícius had one in eight for Real Madrid, who were six points behind.
What happened between Vinícius and Yamal in the Clásico?
Three days before the game at the Bernabéu on 26 October 2025, Yamal was asked on a stream whether a rival team in the Kings League were like Real Madrid, and joked that they rob and complain. In the second minute of the Clásico the referee gave Real Madrid a penalty for a challenge by Yamal on Vinícius, then cancelled it after a video review showed Vinícius had made the contact. Real Madrid won 2–1. Vinícius was taken off after 72 minutes, walked straight down the tunnel, later came back to the bench and apologised to the club's fans three days afterwards. At the final whistle Dani Carvajal and then Vinícius made for Yamal, and the two squads squared up; ESPN's columnist wrote that no punch was thrown, and in its account of the referee's report Vinícius was one of five players booked and Yamal was not. Other moments between them have been friendlier. Vinícius posted his support for Yamal and two team-mates the day after racist insults from the stands at the Bernabéu in October 2024, and in April 2026 he said it was important that Yamal had spoken out against anti-Muslim chants at a Spain game. Before the 2026 World Cup he told the Brazilian channel CazéTV that Yamal was one of the best players in the world. During it Yamal told the radio station COPE that he was enjoying watching Vinícius, in the same interview in which he said he did not regret his remark.
Have Vinícius and Yamal played against each other?
Nine times in competitive games up to 3 October 2026, every one a Clásico: five in LaLiga, three Spanish Super Cup finals and one Copa del Rey final, in 2025. Yamal's Barcelona won five and Vinícius's Real Madrid four. Vinícius scored five goals in them, two from penalties, and set up four; Yamal scored three and set up two. They also met once for their countries, in a 3–3 friendly between Spain and Brazil in March 2024, and have never been team-mates.
Who has won more, Vinícius or Yamal?
They have three LaLiga titles and one Copa del Rey each. The rest of Vinícius's medals are club ones: by Real Madrid's count he had 14 trophies in October 2026, among them two Champions Leagues, three Spanish Super Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and three Club World Cups, and Brazil have not won a senior title with him. Yamal's biggest are international, the 2026 World Cup and EURO 2024, both with Spain, and he has two Spanish Super Cups with Barcelona but no Champions League. Individually, Vinícius won FIFA's The Best award for 2024 and was the Champions League's player of the season in 2023–24. Yamal took the Kopa Trophy, for players under 21, in 2024 and 2025 and was LaLiga's Player of the Season for 2025–26. Up to October 2026 each had been runner-up in the Ballon d'Or once.
Who is the better dribbler, and who is faster?
On official counts Yamal dribbles more and Vinícius has the higher top speed. In the 2024–25 Champions League they played almost identical minutes, 1,104 for Vinícius and 1,101 for Yamal, and UEFA recorded 109 dribbles for Yamal and 82 for Vinícius, the two highest totals in the competition, with top speeds of 35.5 km/h for Vinícius and 32.2 for Yamal. The pattern held in 2025–26: 117 dribbles to 79, and 35.1 km/h to 31.6. At the 2026 World Cup FIFA counted 35 completed dribbles for Yamal, the most at the tournament, and 23 for Vinícius, the fourth most, in five games to Yamal's eight. Yamal also passes more, 519 attempts to 361 in that 2024–25 Champions League season, while Vinícius covered more ground, 118.9 km to 101.3.