Vinícius's contract renewal blows up, Real Madrid breaks off negotiations

One of Real Madrid's pending issues for the upcoming seasons involves Vinícius Jr. The Brazilian footballer has a contract until the summer of 2027, but his defeat in the 2024 Ballon d'Or may have initiated a noteworthy process that could well end with his departure. Especially due to the considerable offers from Saudi Arabia, which put really high fees on the table.

Real Madrid can't and doesn't wish to compete with the approaches from the Saudi Pro League, a will that the '7' merengue's entourage knows firsthand. That's why they have agreed to start conversations for his renewal, contacts that have improved their fluidity in recent weeks. At least until now, when that trend has undergone a shocking change.

Everything suggested that Vinícius's renewal with Real Madrid was close, but the information published by the newspaper MARCA offers a very different version of the events. This sports media indicates that Vinícius's entourage has requested a salary similar to Kylian Mbappé's: the Bondy striker is currently the highest-paid player at the club.

Vinícius would also like to occupy the same place in the first team's salary scale demanding a salary of 30 million euros net per season. That figure demanded by those closest to the South American footballer would exclude bonuses and other gratifications supposedly agreed with Real Madrid based on his individual and collective performance.

Momentary pause?

According to MARCA, Real Madrid considers that request more than unacceptable. The executives led by Florentino Pérez remind that the maximum salary cap they are willing to negotiate is set at 20 million euros net per season. It is still unknown if that figure suggested by the white sports management includes future performance bonuses.

In any case, the demands of Vinícius's entourage have not pleased a Real Madrid that would have decided to pause the conversations for his renewal. The executives led by Florentino Pérez believed they had an agreement within reach with the footballer, but that new demand means losing a large part of the progress made to date.

Vinícius requests to be the highest-paid footballer at Real Madrid alongside Kylian Mbappé. The white leadership would not agree with that idea managed by the closest to the São Gonçalo striker, considering that everything revolves around the French forward. Xabi Alonso already knows, through direct communication with the white bosses, that the '9' merengue must be the cornerstone of 'his' Real Madrid.

In that sense, Vinícius wishes to match a player he has surpassed in previous seasons... as shown, even, by the records of his defeat in the 2024 Ballon d'Or. But the idea doesn't convince the Madrid executives, since comparisons this season clearly place Kylian Mbappé ahead of Vinícius Jr.