Vinicius Junior reaches enormous Real Madrid milestone | OneFootball

Vinicius Junior earned his 300th appearance for Real Madrid after being named in the starting lineup to face Real Betis on Saturday.

Los Blancos continue the defence of their La Liga crown against the Andalusian outfit having tasted victory over Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday.

While Carlo Ancelotti will undoubtedly have one eye on Tuesday's meeting with city rivals Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, the veteran coach named a strong lineup to face Betis, with Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Antonio Rudiger all involved.

Vinicius was unsurprisingly named in the team to face former Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini and his squad at Estadio Benito Villamarin, with the 24-year-old superstar racking up his 300th appearance for Los Blancos' senior side in the process.

The winger's previous 299 appearances have yielded an eye-catching tally of 102 goals and 69 assists - 28 of which have come this season - as he continues to write his name into Madrid legend.

Vinicius is not done in Madrid colours / Angel Martinez/GettyImages

Vinicius, who was named 2024 Ballon d'Or runner-up last October, has won a total of 14 trophies since arriving in the Spanish capital back in 2018, including three La Liga titles and two Champions League crowns.

There has been speculation regarding the South American's long-term future at the Santiago Bernabeu amid Saudi Arabian interest in the fleet-footed forward, but he recently revealed he wishes to stay with Madrid until he can make at least his 500th appearance for the club.

After playing his first game as Madrid captain midweek, Vinicius claimed: "It's something different because you never imagine what's going to happen to you, and I'm happy to be able to enter [history] as captain of the best club in the world in the semi-finals of the cup.

"I'm living it. It's something I hadn't even dreamed of. In the next match the 300th appearance will come, but I already want the 400th and 500th and to make history at this club."