It once felt like a match made in heaven. Vinicius Jr made it at Real Madrid the hard way, moving from Brazil for big money, getting demoted to the reserves, and fighting his way up to become one of the best players on the planet. Now, it feels like the relationship is set for a bitter break-up.
Speaking on Bein Sports this week, Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger had the same feeling, saying: "I am not completely convinced that Vinicius' future lies at Real Madrid."
Should the 25-year-old leave Xabi Alonso’s side, it would likely be one of the biggest sales in football history. So, how did we get here and what happens next?
Some way off an agreement
The route of the issue between player and club comes down to money. Vinicius Jr wants a contract that would match Kylian Mbappe’s but Real Madrid are unwilling to give him the reported €600,962 per week.
Vinicius Jr’s current deal with the Spanish giants is set to expire in the summer of 2027. Several reports earlier in the year had suggested that a deal was all but done, only for the player’s entourage to deny the claims, and everyone went back to the drawing board.
It’s gone silent since then, and outbursts like the one when he was substituted in their 2-1 El Clasico win aren’t doing him any favours, with BILD reporting that the club “have had enough” and want to make it clear that no player is bigger than the club.
Despite all of that, the club are doing everything they can to ensure he signs a new contract, and they don’t go through a similar experience PSG did with Mbappe. Pretty ironic, eh?
Who could actually afford Vinicius Jr?
Let’s say he doesn’t sign a new deal, and Real Madrid put him up for sale next summer. Not only would they probably demand a fee of over €100 million, but any club interested in signing him would also have to fork out nearly as much in wages over the course of his contract.
A few Premier League clubs could do it, Chelsea, Man City, Man United, and maybe Liverpool, but they’re starting to shy away from signing players on ridiculous contracts, instead going for ‘performance based’ deals that help them become more sustainable in the long-term.
PSG could probably pull it off, but they’re not really in need of a left winger, and again, they’ve moved on from the superstar model, and it’s served them pretty well, finally getting their hands on the Champions League last season.
That leaves the elephant in the room, Saudi Arabia. For the past year or so, Vinicius Jr has repeatedly been linked with a move that would earn him a staggering €1 billion over five years, or approximately €200 million per season.
Saudi clubs don’t have to adhere to the same financial rules and regulations that their European counterparts do, add the fact the nation doesn’t have any personal income tax, that’s one hell of an attractive offer.
Money is one thing, but the Saudi Pro League is not of the same standard as any of the top European leagues, so it begs the question whether Vinicius Jr would be willing to give up a career at the elite level to do so.
Who could replace Vinicius Jr at Real Madrid?
Getting rid of Vinicius Jr actually solves a huge problem for Real Madrid. Mbappe also prefers to play off the left but has been stuck up top in order to help facilitate the two players in the same starting eleven.
So, with the Brazilian gone, the Frenchman would take his place, and that leaves the question of who fills the void up top. The obvious answer is Erling Haaland, who has been linked with a move to Spain pretty much since he stepped foot in the Premier League.
That’s a bit of a pipe-dream though, regardless of how much the Spanish press insist that it’s an inevitability. The Norwegian recently signed a NINE-YEAR contract at Man City, and if Real Madrid think they can strong arm City into giving them a good deal, they’re very wrong.
The truth is, there is a serious lack of top-quality number nines around, most of them joined new clubs this summer. If only Real Madrid had a young lad with bags of potential in desperate need of minute on their books… oh, wait!
Just like they did with Vinicius Jr, if he does leave, the wisest option for Xabi Alonso and co would be to show some faith in Endrick. There’s a reason the splashed roughly around €60 million on him in the first place.
Verdict
It’s a bit of a Catch 22 for Vinicius Jr. His wage demands mean leaving Real Madrid would likely be the end of his time in Europe, and while the club are reluctant to let him leave, he’s not justifying such a pay package on the pitch at the moment.
Expect that move to Saudi Arabia to happen in the not too distant future.