Real Madrid are reportedly considering the sale of Vinicius Jr, with the star Brazil attacker engaged in a contract stand-off at Santiago Bernabeu.
Vinicius Jr, who has just bowed out of the World Cup following defeat to Norway, is back front and centre of the Real Madrid agenda, with fans concerned about the lack of a new contract.
The 25-year-old was widely expected to extend his deal but weeks have passed and with no agreement in sight, reports are emerging in Spain that Real Madrid may need to deal with the prospect of selling.
Vinicius has one year remaining on his current deal and Radio Marca pundit and prominent Real Madrid voice, Ramon Alvarez, claims that with increasing pessimism over tying the Brazilian down to a new deal, the idea of a ‘blockbuster transfer’ is gaining momentum among those in the corridors of power at Real Madrid.
He has been a jewel in Real Madrid’s crown for many years but player demands seem to have stalled contract talks and now president Florentino Perez, as well as new boss Jose Mourinho, face a headache on how to resolve the situation.
Alvarez stressed in recent days that Real Madrid will not ‘prioritise an individual player’s interests’ above those of the club, a nod to suggestions that Vinicius’ wage demands are not in line with where the club want to place him.
Vinicius Jr has a year remaining on his Real Madrid contract but extension talks have ‘stalled’
There have been reports for months now that major clubs in England, as well as Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, are closely following the Vinicius Jr saga to see if a market opportunity arises to get him below his regular valuation.
Clubs in Saudi Arabia have also taken major interest in acquiring Vinicius should he be allowed to leave Real Madrid.
Reports in Spain have claimed that Vinicius is targeting a contract extension that would make him Real Madrid’s highest-paid player, something which could cause issues among other star names such as Kylian Mbappe.
It will also be intriguing to see how Vinicius Jr and Mourinho’s relationship looks, just months after the two were at the centre of a forgettable episode in Lisbon.
Back in February, Vinicius scored in a Champions League game against Benfica, then managed by Mourinho, and after being booked for what was deemed an excessive celebration, the Brazilian alleged that Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni racially abused him. Prestianni strongly denied this.
While Prestianni was eventually banned for six matches – not for racist abuse, though, as it was deemed by UEFA to be insufficient evidence to prove such an allegation – for a homophobic insult directed at Vinicius Jr.
In the aftermath, it was Mourinho’s comments which raised eyebrows and it will be interesting to see if it is now water under the bridge with Mourinho now Vinicius Jr’s boss.
‘You score a goal from another world, why celebrate like that?’ Mourinho said of Vinicius.
‘The same thing always happens in so many stadiums. In how many states has this happened? In how many stadiums? How many? How many?
‘He’s an out of this world player, I love him. Vinicius tells me one thing and Prestianni tells me another. I want to be balanced.’
Reports in Spain claim that pessimism is growing that Vinicius Jr will agree to a new deal
Mourinho even suggested Vinicius Jr had incited the crowd.
‘Yes. I believe so,’ he added.
‘It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal. Unfortunately [he was] not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way.’
He added: ‘When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusebio] was black.
‘This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. They [Vinicius and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don’t believe in one or another. I want to be an independent.’
