Real Madrid have beaten Barcelona and Manchester City to the €30 million signing of teen sensation Reinier Jesus from Flamengo. The Brazil youth international is with his country's under-23 squad preparing for the CONMEBOL pre-Olympics tournament later this month. A club source told ESPN that the signing is "a confirmation of Real Madrid's gamble" to recruit the best young talents. Reinier, who joins on a contract until June 2026, scored six goals in Flamengo's 2019 Brazilian league title-winning season and was an unused substitute in their Club World Cup final defeat to Liverpool in December. The play-making midfielder will not join Zinedine Zidane's first team squad immediately. Once he has completed his international duties, he is expected to play for Real Madrid's B-team, Castilla, for the rest of 2019-20. Real Madrid were aided in their pursuit of Reinier by a strong pre-existing relationship with Flamengo, having bought Vinicius Junior from the Rio de Janeiro-based club in 2018. In recent years Madrid have made a habit of targeting emerging Brazilian talent, spending €45m on both Vinicius and Rodrygo Goes, signed from Santos last year.
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