[5][6] Growing up, he was inspired by the finishing and dribbling of Brazilian striker Ronaldo, who was the top scorer at the 2002 FIFA World Cup which Japan co-hosted when Minamino was seven.

"[9] In August 2009, Minamino participated Japan's U15 Club Youth Soccer Championship Tournament and helped the Cerezo Osaka's U15 side finished eighth place, as they were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

[11] The following year, Minamino helped Cerezo Osaka's U15 team finish at the top of the Prince League Kansai and at one point, scored a hat-trick, in a 5–0 win over Kobe City Science and Technology High School on 11 April 2010.

[16] It was not until on 17 November 2012 that he made his Cerezo first-team debut, coming on as a substitute for Takuma Edamura, in a 3–1 loss against Omiya Ardija.

[20] Minamino became the first player from the club's youth system to play in the opening game of the season against Albirex Niigata, which Cerezo Osaka won 1–0.

[22] Minamino continued to perform well throughout March when he set up two assists in the next two league matches before scoring his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 win over Oita Trinita in the Emperor's Cup.

[25] Three weeks later on 26 July 2013, Minamino scored in a friendly match against Manchester United when "he sent a 20-yard piledriver into the top of the net, giving the opposition goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard no chance at all".

[27] However, during a match against Shimizu S-Pulse on 19 August 2013, he suffered a medial collateral ligament injury on his left knee and was sidelined for six weeks.

Following this, Minamino went on to win the 2013 J league best newcomer award; previous winners include Takashi Usami (2010), Hiroki Sakai (2011) and Gaku Shibasaki (2012).

[39] During a 0–0 draw against Ventforet Kofu on 23 July 2014, Minamino's performance was the subject of criticism when he struggled to defend despite playing in the left-wing position; prompting apology on his Twitter account once again.

[41] After serving a match suspension, Minamino scored his second league goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Vissel Kobe on 30 August 2014.

[47] Minamino made his Red Bull Salzburg debut, where he started a match in a left-wing position before being substituted in the 64th minute, in a 2–0 win over Wiener Neustadt on 13 February 2015.

[48] After missing two matches, due to a tear on his adductor muscle, he returned from injury to make his European debut on 26 February 2015, playing the first half of a 1–3 home defeat (2–5 aggregate) to Villarreal in the second leg of the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League before being replaced by Felipe Pires.

[55] He then scored five goals throughout August, starting with a brace against SV Ried, Dinamo Minsk in the UEFA Europa League campaign and Sturm Graz.

[56] In a 4–2 win over SV Grödig on 12 September 2015, Minamino scored a brace before setting up the club's fourth goal of the game.

[58] However, Minamino suffered a goal drought for the next four months and it was finally ended on 28 February 2016 when he scored in a 4–1 win over Austria Wien.

[63] After being away from the FC Red Bull Salzburg, due to international commitment, he scored on his return on 20 August 2016, in a 3–1 win over SV Mattersburg.

[66] Two months later on 19 February 2017, Minamino scored the first hat-trick of his Red Bull Salzburg career, in a 6–1 win over SV Ried.

[67] He played a huge role when he scored twice in a 5–0 win over FC Admira Wacker Mödling to reach the final of the Austrian Cup.

[69] Despite this, he helped the side win both Austrian Cup and the league for the third consecutive time in his Red Bull Salzburg career.

[72] However, during a 5–1 win over St. Pölten on 20 August 2017 (which he set up the club's first goal of the game), Minamino suffered a ligament tear and was substituted in the 40th minute; and as a result, he was sidelined for six weeks).

[78] During the 2017–18 season, Salzburg had their best ever European campaign, as they finished top of their Europa League group, for a record fourth time, before beating Real Sociedad, Borussia Dortmund and Lazio (in which he scored two goals in the knockout stage against Real Sociedad and Lazio),[79] thus making their first ever appearance in the UEFA Europa League semi-final.

[90] The following month, Minamino scored two more goals, including one against Grazer AK, which saw Red Bull Salzburg reach the Austrian Cup final.

[96] Over the next two weeks, Minamino scored two more goals in Austrian Cup and UEFA Champions League match against Rapid Wien and Liverpool respectively.

[98] Minamino scored his ninth goal of the season, in a 5–1 win over WSG Swarovski Tirol on 7 December 2019, in what turned out to be his last appearance for the club.

[99] In December 2019, Liverpool agreed to a deal to sign Minamino from Salzburg in January 2020 after activating his £7.25 million release clause, making him the first Japanese player to play for the club.

[113] Minamino was an unused substitute as Liverpool went on to win the competition by beating Chelsea 10–11 on penalties at the final on 27 February, with the game ending 0–0 after extra time.

[128] However, Japan U16 were eliminated by North Korea U16 in the semi-finals, as they lost 2–1, during which, Minamino scored the national side's only goal of the match.

[139] However, Minamino was not featured in the final against South Korea, as he was recalled back to the first team by Red Bull Salzburg, as Japan won the tournament for the first time after winning 3–2 in the game.

[145] A month later on 17 November 2015, he made his second appearance for Japan in a FIFA World Cup qualification match against Cambodia, coming on as a substitute in the 86th minute, in a 2–0 win.