Real Madrid is preparing to negotiate a new contract with Vinícius Júnior, who will enter the final two years of his contract this summer.
Real Madrid will attempt to sign a new contract with Vinícius Júnior next summer as the Brazilian reaches a crucial point in his current deal. At the end of the season, the attacker will enter the last two years of his contract with Madrid. And when it comes to players being central to the club's long-term plans, Los Blancos are keen not to let that happen.
Vinicius, who remains a top transfer target for the cash-rich Saudi Pro League, has had an excellent calendar year, which saw him named Best Men's Player at this month's FIFA Football Awards. After registering the best figures of his career in 2024, Vinícius is now looking for a pay rise that would put him in the same pay bracket as Madrid's top earner Kylian Mbappé.
When was the last time Vinicius extended his contract with Real Madrid?
Vinicius last extended his contract with Madrid in 2023 – his first extension since joining the club in 2018. When the 24-year-old penned his current deal with the LaLiga giants, his contract was in urgent need of an update. He was the team's second-lowest paid player, with an after-tax salary of just €1.5 million. Vinícius' revised deal, which expires in June 2027, includes a buyout sum of €1 billion ($1.04 billion), and gave the player a significant pay increase.
However, his improved salary remains below the team's top end. When he signed the contract, Toni Kroos and David Alaba were Madrid's highest earners, with deals worth just over ten million euros a year. That status has since been usurped by Mbappe, who is reported to have received an annual salary of around €15 million ($15.6 million) as part of his free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in July.
When Madrid and Vinicius sit down to discuss a new contract, the player's negotiating position will be strengthened by the fact that he has – at the very least – been no less important to Carlo Ancelotti's team this season than Mbappé.
Could Vinícius Júnior be lured to Saudi Arabia?
Vinicius will also be able to point to the significant Saudi interest in his services, with three-time champions Al Ahli offering him their biggest ever football contract last summer. Given the magnitude of the offer before him, Vinícius wanted to at least listen to what the Saudis had to say; However, Madrid refused to negotiate and reminded the player's potential buyers of his ten-figure release clause.
However, AS understands that a renewed Saudi offensive is expected next season. Not only is the Saudi Pro League eager to pull off a major transfer coup, but the Middle Eastern kingdom is looking to make the Brazilian international one of the key faces of its World Cup project after he wins the right this month acquired to host the international tournament in 2034.
While Vinícius is aiming for a huge pay rise at the Bernabéu, the strength of his current negotiating position represents a victory for the contract strategy of his agent, Frederico Pena. In 2023, it was Pena who advised the player to commit to Madrid for only four years, preferring a shorter-term extension than teammates such as Rodrygo Goes and Éder Militao, who both signed until 2028. Pena's approach is adamant that his clients must maintain control over their own future.
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