Over the last few months, there has been significant speculation in regards to Vinicius Junior’s future as a Real Madrid player. Specifically, Saudi Arabia has been pushing hard to bring in to the Middle East, and in 2025, there will be further efforts made to orchestrate a deal for the 24-year-old superstar.
There has been reports of Vinicius feeling disillusioned in European football after his Ballon d’Or snub in October, although Real Madrid do not see things this way. They intend to offer their star player a new contract at the end of the season, although it appears that they will also have to brace for a world-record bid at the same time.
According to a report from Give Me Sport (via MD), Saudi Arabia are preparing to make a €350m offer for Vinicius. If they do, and it is successful, this would make a deal the most expensive in football history, surpassing the €222m that Barcelona received from Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar Junior back in 2017.
Should a deal be agreed, Saudi Arabia would then decide the club that Vinicius would join, and according to the report, the favourites are Al Ahli, who boast the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Ivan Toney and former Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie in their squad.
Despite it seeming that Saudi Arabia are confident of bringing in Vinicius as their next star player, Real Madrid are said to be very calm about the situation. They have no plans to accept any offers, meaning that the only way for a deal to be done is if €1bn was paid – that’s the release clause in the Brazilian’s contract.
For now, Real Madrid and Vinicius are focused on the remainder of the season, but there will come a time when his future is discussed. When that happens, Los Blancos will hope to secure his services beyond 2027, which is when his current deal expires.
