No matter how much and how often Vinicius Junior, and indeed manager Carlo Ancelotti, emphasize that the Brazilian wants to stay at Real Madrid, the Saudi Arabia story refuses to be silenced. Their interest in Vinicius was revealed last summer, and after Vinicius’ camp held talks with Saudi representatives in August, further contacts took place in December.
Vinicius has insisted he is happy at Real Madrid, and wants to continue making history as the club, as has Ancelotti recently. The Italian said that he had it ‘direct from Vinicius’ that he was keen to stay at the club. The 24-year-old has a contract until 2027, and put off contract talks with Los Blancos in September, but is due to sit down with the club to hammer out a new deal this summer.
However Vinicius’ contract situation will only encourage the Saudi offensive though, with Al-Ahli believed to be the club most interested in securing his services. Their offer for Real Madrid would be around €300m, while Vinicius would earn around €200m per year over the course of a five-year contract. It would be the first €1b contract in football, and the total cost of the operation would be €1.3b, with Vinicius becoming an ambassador for Saudi football leading up to the 2034 World Cup.
Real Madrid’s stance throughout has been that they want to hold onto Vinicius for the foreseeable, and if Saudi Arabia want him, they will have to pay out his €1b release clause. However, Diario AS have revealed a wrinkle in that stance. If Vinicius were to ask to leave the club, then they would sit down and negotiate with Saudi Arabia.
It is hard to imagine Real Madrid losing one of the top stars in world football at the peak, or going into the peak, of their career. That said, with Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo Goes in their ranks, and the eye-watering money on the table, it is a rather unique situation they find themselves in. Either way, Real Madrid will not want to be seen as courting the move.
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