Just last year, Vinicius was Real Madrid's most important player. He was the leader of the attack team leading the Champions League championship team, among the brightest group to win the Golden Ball.
Saudi Pro League teams have offered Real Madrid a contract worth nearly 1 billion Euros, but Los Blancos have decided not to release the Brazilian striker, enough to see how important he is.
Now, everything is reversing for Vinicius. He missed the 2024 Ballon d'Or (even though he won The Best afterwards) and continuously showed poor form throughout the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 - the first tournament of new captain Xabi Alonso. There were dissatisfactions and cries from Real Madrid fans for the 25-year-old star.
In the recent tournament in the US, in the semi-final against PSG, Xabi Alonso let Vinicius sit on the bench. The new season is about to begin and in the past half month there has been no sign that the relationship between Vinicius and Alonso will warm up, signaling an extremely difficult campaign for this striker.
In addition to not being able to maintain good form on the field, Vinicius' contract is also a topic of discussion, partly the main reason for the conflicting rumors.
Real Madrid have started negotiations to extend the deadline since January. The Brazilian striker's current contract is valid until 2027, but Real wanted to show a move to tie him up and Vinicius temporarily refused.
Vinicius' current salary is around 17 million Euros/year. In the new contract Real Madrid is planning to extend, this figure is up to 20 million Euros/year. The team's leadership has asked Vinicius to give a specific number and has not yet received a response.
According to The Athletic, Vinicius may want the figure to be up to 30 million Euros/year (net salary). This is a record that has only belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo in the past. This includes a basic salary, performance bonus and even a renewal bonus, something unprecedented at Real Madrid.
Vinicius' representative shared that if they cannot break Real Madrid's salary limit ( stop at 20 million Euros/year), every player must find a new destination. This is an unofficial regulation of the Bernabeu team, but everyone understands that it is the intention of owner Florentino Perez. Only when the Bernabeu's father nodded did there be a few exceptions.
In April, Spanish media published quite a lot about Vinicius being able to re-sign with Real Madrid after the end of the domestic season. However, when he learned this information, Vinicius was upset and denied it. Since then, everything has been frozen. The newspapers that once said Vinicius would extend now say everything is stagnant.
As for Real Madrid, they are determined to keep the salary ceiling and if asked, they will refuse to extend Vinicius. In reality, the players are in a weaker position due to Vinicius' recent poor form. To get a new contract with a higher salary, the 25-year-old striker must play well first.
Xabi Alonso is new and has not encountered any obstacles in his relationship with the players, especially the city'sampions under Carlo Ancelotti. The young strategist is determined to eradicate the "rooted" mentality that is forming in some players, when they think that just having success in the past is enough for Real Madrid to promote and go down to the country.
As for Alonso, he has no problems with Vinicius, all of which must be answered by his form on the pitch. Trent Alexander-Arnold's injury has helped Vinicius return to the Real Madrid squad at the FIFA Club World Cup as a right striker, Gonzalo Garcia as a center forward and Kylian Mbappe as a left winger.
After the FIFA Club World Cup ended, the Real Madrid coaching staff agreed that both Vinicius and Mbappe are equally important in the 2025-2026 campaign. The problem of Ancelotti's unresolved question of the coordination between Vinicius and Mbappe is now handed over to Alonso.
Vinicius is a world-class star, that is undeniable. However, after a series of incidents from the 2024 Ballon d'Or, he needs to be more professional, regain his spirit and know that there is no better place than Real Madrid to take him off.
