What happened to Reinier? Why €35m 'new Kaka' failed to follow in Vinicius Jr's footsteps at Real Madrid

It's obvious now that the comparisons with Kaka led to too much pressure being placed on Reinier's young shoulders. It also didn't help that his ex-Flamengo team-mate Filipe Luis went a step further after the Madrid transfer was announced, telling Marca: "It really is a great signing; I congratulate Real Madrid. I remember Kaka because he played with his head up, and he was lethal in the area. Reinier has even more quality than Kaka with his back to goal."

Perhaps the fact that Kaka never reached the same heights at Real as he did with AC Milan served as a bad omen for Reinier, who had also been a target for Manchester City and Atletico Madrid - according to The Athletic. And as fate would have it, the Covid-19 pandemic effectively ruined his first year in the Spanish capital.

Reinier started well enough after joining Madrid's Castilla squad, recording three goal contributions in his first three appearances under the tutelage of club legend Raul. But the Segunda season was then put on hold in March 2020 due to the pandemic, and by May, when Spanish teams were cleared to resume training, then-manager Zinedine Zidane had drafted Reinier into the senior group.

That breakthrough did not lead to a regular role in the squad, though. Madrid eventually decided Reinier would be better off gaining first-team experience elsewhere, and he was sent to Borussia Dortmund on a two-season loan deal in August.

Interestingly, the first thing Reinier did at Dortmund was try to shut down talk of being Kaka's natural heir. “I don’t want to be a Kaka, I want to be Reinier,” he told BVB's official website after his unveiling. “It’s a nice thing to be compared to such a player, but I want to show the football player I am. I want to be successful with the club, win titles if possible and give the fans a lot of joy.”

Reinier's best intentions rarely shone through on the pitch, though. He was restricted to just 70 minutes of action for Dortmund in the first half of the 2020-21 Bundesliga campaign, which led to reports of a premature return to the Bernabeu. They were, however, shut down by Michael Zorc in January, as the Dortmund sporting director said: "We basically don’t want to give him up. If someone is dissatisfied because he has too few opportunities, then you talk to each other, but we will not take the initiative ourselves."

To his credit, Reinier wanted to stay and prove his worth at Signal Iduna Park, and after being given Madrid's blessing, he scored his first goal for Dortmund from the bench in a 3-0 Bundesliga win over Arminia Bielefeld in February. That long-awaited moment would not spark a turnaround in fortunes, though.

Indeed, the teenage playmaker had to wait until the final day of the season for his first start, at which point BVB had already secured Champions League qualification under caretaker boss Edin Terzic. Surprisingly, Dortmund continued to persist with Reinier after appointing Marco Rose as their new permanent manager in the summer of 2021, but his second season at the club ended up being an even bigger disaster.

Reinier was named in Brazil's U23 squad for the delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo despite his struggles at Dortmund, and played his part in their run to Gold Medal glory, scoring a crucial penalty in their semi-final shootout victory over Mexico. The Athletic claims that Dortmund also tried to sign Reinier permanently that summer, but Madrid rejected their approach - a decision they would later come to regret.

"I hope to play more this season and I'm working towards it," Reinier said during his time at the Games. "I work at home every day. I want to play, score goals - everything." He did not get his wish, though, as Rose favoured the likes of Julian Brandt and Thorgan Hazard ahead of Reinier right from the start of his reign at Signal Iduna Park.

By the end of October 2022, Reinier had made just six substitute appearances totalling 66 minutes, and his father, Mauro Brasilia, felt the need to speak out. "Something very strange is happening there, it’s a shame, for both of us," Brasilia told GOAL. "He could bring a different style of play to the team, which is very necessary in some matches. He knows how to control possession and control the game like few others. It seems that Dortmund have not understood this, and have not realised that he could be a good option."

Reinier was subsequently linked with a winter move to Benfica, but a deal never materialised. He instead remained rooted to the Dortmund bench in the second half of the 2021-22 campaign, even as BVB fell way behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga title race, and finished the season without a single goal or assist to his name.

When Reinier's loan deal at Dortmund finally expired, he was glad to leave. The Brazil U23 international subsequently completed another loan move to Spanish outfit Girona, and expressed his desire to rebuild after "two lost years" in Germany.

"I just wanted to get out of there. I did my part, I trained, I went home and I was there every day," Reinier added in an appearance on Brazilian podcast Gringolandia in September 2022. "I always arrived on time. I respected all the people who worked at the club. I have a clear conscience."

Reinier quickly worked his way into Girona's starting XI, and scored his first-ever La Liga goal in a 2-1 home win over Real Valladolid. But just when it looked like he might start fulfilling his potential, disaster struck. Reinier missed Girona's first four league games in October with a muscle problem, and his return only lasted two matches.

Girona were forced to make do without Reinier from November to mid-February as he battled to recover from ankle and hamstring injuries. Head coach Michel gave the Brazilian plenty of chances to win back his place after he'd made a full recovery, but he only earned three starts in Girona's final 12 games of the 2022-23 season, scoring once, and unsurprisingly, the club did not make any attempt to sign him outright.

Madrid still had no place for Reinier in their first-team squad, and so once again they started looking for clubs willing to take the Flamengo academy graduate on loan. Unfortunately, after three underwhelming seasons, the list of suitors was a short one, and Reinier's short-term future was not decided until deadline day in the 2023 summer window.

In the end, newly-promoted Serie A outfit Frosinone were the only club willing to cover a large portion of Reinier's £3m per year wages. He made his debut against Hellas Verona on October 8, and marked the occasion with a goal as Frosinone ran out 2-1 winners.

Three weeks later, Reinier recorded two assists in a thrilling 4-3 loss at Cagliari, much to the delight of his new manager Eusebio Di Francesco. "In the last 20-25 metres he is decisive. He has a lot of talent, he knows how to play with the ball, and reads games well," he said when quizzed on Reinier's impact at Stadio Benito Stirpe. "He arrived here in bad physical condition because he had been training on his own for 25 days, but now he is in excellent shape and showing important numbers."

Di Francesco's trust in Reinier was reciprocated, as the youngster revealed in an interview with AS: "I feel very comfortable here. Di Francesco has supported me and helped me since the first training session. He asks me to play without pressure and with a smile on my face, on the pitch I always know what I have to do. He asks to play the ball and always press the opponents. I'm improving and studying Italian."

At that stage, Reinier was daring to believe a second chance in Madrid could be on the horizon. "My father told me that the Italian league would be the right one for me and for my football," he added. "In my head there is still the dream of returning to play for Real." But as has become a recurring theme with Reinier, he jumped the gun.

He suffered a hamstring injury in December, and although he only sat out three games, that setback cost him his starting spot. Di Francesco only included Reinier in his Serie A line up six times between January and May, and he managed to score just one more goal for the club as they suffered immediate relegation back to the second tier of Italian football.

Reinier was registered with Real's Castilla squad for the start of the 2024-25 season after his third unsuccessful loan spell, but Ancelotti publicly suggested another transfer was in the offing as he told reporters: "I recommend that he looks for a team where he can show his qualities."

It looked like Norwich City would be that club for a while, as Reinier's representatives shared the Championship club's interest in his services with the Madrid board. However, the Canaries were ultimately unable to reach an agreement over a loan deal with a buy option, and the Spanish Segunda then emerged as his most likely next destination. Eibar and Tenerife both expressed an interest in Reinier, but Granada stole in just before the summer deadline to secure a season-long loan deal.

The Athletic claims that Reinier was left "upset" with Madrid over a lack of communication and support in all transfer negotiations. He also conceded defeat in his bid to make the grade at the Bernabeu, having been given the impression the club didn't "trust" him.

The move to Granada was little more than a final attempt for Madrid to raise Reinier's market value ahead of a permanent sale before the expiration of his contract in 2026. Still, the capture of a Blancos prospect generated plenty of buzz around Granada, who gave their new signing a golden crown and superimposed him onto the city's Alhambra palace throne in their announcement post on social media.

A huge lion was also placed next to Reinier as Granada welcomed their new 'Rei' - which translates to 'king'. Talk about setting him up for a fall...

Reinier hasn't looked anything like the king that was promised in his first 23 outings for Granada. A measly haul of one goal and four assists highlights the fact that he still can't make a decisive impact consistently, and he's yet to nail down a spot in Fran Escriba's line up.

That is partly down to a muscle tear suffered in January, which kept Reinier out for the next month, but the truth is he just hasn't done enough to impose himself. The Brazilian is fully fit again now, but is rapidly running out of time to earn a permanent transfer to Granada.

Reinier has not been the difference-maker the club hoped could fire them back into La Liga at the first time of asking, as they face an uphill battle to even secure a play-off place in their final 11 games of the campaign. At this rate, Reinier will find himself back in limbo this summer.

Madrid have an obligation to keep him on their books for one more year, but it now feels inevitable that Reinier will leave the club as a free agent and arguably the biggest failure in their recent history. Perhaps Vinicius and Rodrygo set the bar too high, and Reinier was always doomed to be in their shadow after following their path out of Brazil.

The truth is probably simpler, though: Reinier is just not cut out for football at the very highest level. At just 23, all is not yet lost for the €35m man, but he may need to return to his homeland to get his career back on track.