Only 18 months ago, Real Madrid were crying foul when Vinicius Junior finished as Ballon d’Or runner-up to Rodri.
Vini had enjoyed an exceptional year in which he had led Los Blancos to the Champions League title. He was a talismanic figure in the knockout stages, scoring the second in a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the final.
Kylian Mbappe’s arrival at the Bernabeu was a turning point. The Brazilian has been gradually pushed into the Frenchman’s shadow, with his demands for a new contract matching that of the centre-forward having fallen on deaf ears.
Vini has been locked in a dispute with Real Madrid for the best part of a year. The Transfers Podcast revealed previously that Los Blancos’ board had grown frustrated with his attitude.
Yet despite his very public clash with his employers and little over a year left to run on his current deal, no serious transfer options have emerged from elite leagues.
Why are big clubs not interested in signing Vini Jr?
French journalist Romain Molina has offered an explanation on X, blaming the ego of Vinicius Junior and poor advice from his agency, Roc Nation, who had sought to push the 25-year-old forward “everywhere”.
“During his incredible 2023/24 season, his value was at an all-time high. At that moment, EVERYONE wanted Vinicius, price be damned (like Neymar in his Barca days). And that’s the problem: it planted a seed in the player’s head of sky-high salaries (over €30m a year at Real) while negotiating the biggest deal in history in… Saudi Arabia,” Molina explains.
“Instead of extending at Real with a nice salary bump and signing bonus, the sums demanded were too steep. Instead, it was foot-dragging, waiting, and advanced talks with Saudi Arabia for amounts beyond comprehension (over a billion across the whole contract).
“But the deal fell through, partly due to ‘parasites’ on the outside who tried to negotiate things behind the scenes when they weren’t part of the equation.
“Roc Nation didn’t capitalise on the hype around Vinicius… Now they’re asking for nearly the same sums. Except that Vini’s stock has dropped on the sporting front. While some teams would be thrilled to sign the player, they don’t have the means – or the desire – to completely blow their budget on him.
“No one is interested in shelling out a hefty fee to Real Madrid – around €150m – a salary of around €30m per year (not including taxes), a signing bonus, agent commission, and various other perks and bonuses.”
Real Madrid’s demands are indeed lavish. VIni Jr’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) sits at €99m and has been dropping thanks to a combination of his expiring contract and comparatively disappointing form.
All this, of course, comes amid doubts over Saudi’s desire to step up its investment in football, leaving Vini’s obvious destination in a state of limbo.
Vini Jr only has one option
Vini has played himself into a corner, leaving his only realistic option to stay with Real Madrid. But equally, his actions over the course of the last year could echo through the squad, leaving Los Blancos with a delicate balance to strike between meeting the player’s demands and not angering the other players.
“His initial demands will never be met, and Real Madrid will have to sweeten the pill for Vinicius, with an extra signing bonus on top of a smaller salary rise,” Molina continues.
“Who’s going to back down and make the financial sacrifice?
“It all hinges on the amount of that bonus, because Real Madrid risk a backlash from the rest of the squad’s players: if Vini gets that, what do we deserve? In 2023/24, this wasn’t an issue, since the player was head and shoulders above the rest and clearly deserved preferential treatment.”
This is a situation is shaping up to provide a tense summer between Real Madrid and Vini Jr, with neither really appearing to have much of an option but to back down.
