Soccer card collectors have a limited selection of Vinicius Junior rookie cards to pick from.
For me, the best Vinicius Junior rookie is his 2018-19 Panini Treble card, but there are good alternatives; I’ve covered them all further down.
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Vinicius Junior Rookie Cards
2018-19 Panini Colecciones Este La Liga Vinicius Junior #15
Vinicius Junior’s first official release in the hobby (his true rookie) is his sticker from the Panini Colecciones Este La Liga set, which was issued during his first year at Real Madrid.
It shows a young Vinicius in a Real Madrid jersey and another image of him juggling a ball – overall, a nice looking sticker.
The price of this one is still very reasonable, considering its significance – which is partly due to modern cards and stickers being mass-produced. Stickers are harder to come by in good condition than cards are though, so if you can find one in good condition it’s worth picking up.
2018-19 Panini Donruss Optic Vinicius Junior #177
One of the best Vinicius Junior rookie cards is this 2018-19 Panini Donruss Optic Rated Rookie card, which offers a chrome finish to the regular Donruss Rated Rookie card.
It’s another that was issued by Panini during Vinicius Junior’s first season at Real Madrid, and it’s one of his most popular rookies among collectors.
The base card is an entry-level option, in terms of price, because it’s so readily available, but there are 10 parallel versions, and the lowest-numbered options are some of Vinicius Junior’s most expensive rookies.
A copy of the Gold (/10) parallel sold for $12k in 2023, graded BGS 9.5, but there are even rarer versions, like the elusive 1-of-1 Gold Vinyl parallel.
2018-19 Panini Megacracks Vinicius Junior #369BIS
Another Panini card issued in 2018, the Megacracks Vinicius Junior is more well-known and popular than his rookie sticker, it’s also more expensive to buy.
It has many similarities to the rookie sticker from the Colecciones Este La Liga, but I actually think it’s not as nice of a card. It shows Vinicius, again, in action with a ball for Real Madrid.
This one is another good buy for a long term hold, especially for collectors who prefer soccer cards over soccer stickers, if they’re looking for an alternative to his true rookie.
A PSA 10 graded copy of the base card sold for $1.21k in 2023 – There are no parallel versions.
2018-19 Panini Treble Vinicius Junior #177
The best Vinicius Junior rookie card is his card from the 2018-19 Panini Treble set, which is his most expensive rookie card to buy.
The set’s card designs feature in-game images of players in action for their club, and you can see Vinicius in his Madrid strip on his rookie.
The base card holds good value, and there 5 numbered parallel options, including a 1-of-1 Platinum version, which sold for $37.1k in 2022, graded BGS 9.5, which makes it one of his most expensive soccer cards ever.
What Is Vinicius Junior’s True Rookie Card?
The 2018-19 Panini Colecciones Este La Liga sticker is Vinicius Junior’s first official release, and his true rookie.
Vinicius’ true rookie card is a little contentious, because he had a couple of different stickers ‘released’ during his rookie season in 2017 as part of the so called ‘2017 O Globo Brazil Promessas’ and ‘2017 Abril Campeonato Carioca SUB20 Promo’ sets.
However, after some suspicion about the legitimacy of those stickers, investigations into it led most to suspect that these stickers were illegally produced and presented as authentic – therefore I don’t think they can be considered Vinicius’ true rookie card. PSA did a full investigation into these sets and published an article which can be read here.
What Is The Most Expensive Vinicius Junior Rookie?
The most expensive Vinicius Junior rookie card to buy is his 2018-19 Panini Treble (#177) card.
The base version sells for multiple hundreds of dollars in a high grade, and the parallel versions sell for more.
The 1-of-1 Platinum parallel version sold for $37.1k in the past.
Are Vinicius Junior Rookie Cards A Good Investment?
Vinicius is establishing himself as a top player at such a young age, and an important part of the hugely popular Real Madrid, so there’s definitely hype around him in soccer at the moment.
He’s got potential to be a big star of the future, and his play style makes him even more popular with fans.
His rookie sticker and cards are very much affordable for any level of soccer card collector right now, so I would say adding one or two to a collection would be a good decision – you could argue there are similar options at lower prices, like Phil Foden, but I think Vinicius Junior has a big career ahead of him as well.
Vinicius Junior: A Background
Vinicius Junior was one of the most promising youngsters in world soccer when he first broke through, and he’s gone on to establish himself at one of the best and most well known soccer teams in the world, Real Madrid.
Real Madrid’s era of European soccer domination in the 2010s came to an end, with many of their star players, like Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema leaving, so Vinicius was part of the rebuild for the next generation.
The Brazilian international player became a fan favorite at Madrid with impressive performances, full of flair and excitement – the winger has been compared in style to his fellow countrymen, Neymar.
Real Madrid brought Vinicius in 2018, when he was just 18 after a very good rookie year (2017) with Flamengo in Brazil – but it was the 2021-22 season that he made his big breakthrough, and established himself as one of Madrid’s best players.
