How Vinicius Junior has become the most decisive player in Champions League since Cristiano Ronaldo

Lisbon—While global attention fixated on the racist abuse aimed at Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid’s visit to Benfica, the 24-year-old Brazilian was busy underscoring his claim as the most influential footballer in Europe’s elite competition since Cristiano Ronaldo’s peak years. His 50th-minute strike on Tuesday not only settled the first-leg knockout tie but also continued a trajectory that has seen him amass 27 goals and 26 assists in the Champions League across the past five seasons—53 direct goal contributions that more than double the 23 managed by last year’s Ballon d’Or winner, Ousmane Dembélé, in the same span.

The goal itself was a study in precision. Pre-shot models assigned Vinicius’s effort a 2% chance of success; the placement and power lifted that probability to 82% once the ball left his foot, leaving the goalkeeper rooted and the Estádio da Luz silenced. The finish was his 31st in the competition, drawing him level with Madrid icon Paco Gento for fourth-most by a player in the club’s European Cup history.

Since the 2021/22 campaign, no footballer has registered more goal involvements in the tournament than Madrid’s current No. 7. He has scored in both of the finals he has contested during that period, helping to hoist the famous trophy twice and replicating the decisive gene that once defined Ronaldo’s tenure in the same shirt. Vinicius now sits on 61 total goal contributions (31 goals, 30 assists) in Europe’s premier event, placing him alongside Cristiano, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Thomas Müller as one of only five players to reach at least 30 goals and 30 assists in the modern era.

Crucially, 28 of those contributions—46%—have arrived after the group stage, a ratio that eclipses Neymar’s 22 knockout-phase involvements (29% of his 76 combined goals and assists). With two more goal contributions, Vinicius would secure his fifth straight season of double-digit Champions League output, a feat achieved only by Ronaldo, who strung together eight consecutive 10-goal campaigns between 2010/11 and 2017/18 on his way to four titles in Madrid.

Vinicius’s 30 assists already tie him with Barcelona maestro Xavi Hernández and Germany’s Müller for seventh on the all-time chart; among active players, only Kevin De Bruyne (31) sits above him, and the Belgian turns 35 in June. Should the Brazilian maintain his 2026 form—six goals and three assists in the calendar year—Carlo Ancelotti’s side will enter the spring stretch as the team every rival hopes to avoid, especially with Kylian Mbappé now flanking a winger who, come July, still won’t have celebrated his 26th birthday.