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One of the world's most prominent superstars will be staying put in the Spanish capital. Real Madrid have reportedly agreed to a new long-term contract with Vinicius Jr, ending speculation of a possible exit.
The Brazilian, a two-time Champions League winner and one of the best attackers in the world, has been embroiled in somewhat contentious back-and-forth with Florentino Perez and the Real Madrid hierarchy for the last two years about re-upping his contract, rejecting numerous offers and courting the interest of teams elsewhere, specifically Arsenal.
In the end, they were able to agree to a deal, with Vinicius staying at the club whose fans largely adore him for his European exploits and his advocacy for societal change.
The Sporting News details the numbers it took for Real Madrid to convince their world-famous winger to remain at the club for the long-term.
MORE: Why Rodri may be about to reject Real Madrid and sign for Barcelona
Vinicius Jr. new contract with Real Madrid
According to multiple reports, Vinicius Jr. has re-upped his Real Madrid contract, signing a six-year deal that runs through the summer of 2032.
Vinicius was set to enter the last year of his previous deal, leading to a tense showdown and rumors of a departure to another big club in Europe. In the end, Vini has decided to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.
What we know about Vinicius Jr. salary, wage at Real Madrid
While there is little known at this point of the wage package afforded to Vinicius in his new Real Madrid deal, there are some details we can pull from various reports.
According to The Athletic, Madrid's latest offer was one of increased value from their previous proposals. While it's not specified in the report if the offer meets the €30 million ($34.6 million) per year demanded by the player during negotiations, it was clearly enough to bridge the gap. The report, from David Ornstein and Mario Cortegana, indicated that Vinicius was insistent on a renewal bonus — similar to a signing bonus — being included in the deal, while also requesting plenty of performance-related add-ons.
The new deal almost surely represents a significant increase from not only his old wages, but even the initial offer Real Madrid had tabled.
According to The Times, which cites Spanish publication AS, Madrid had previously offered a new take-home salary of around €20m ($22.8m), which comes out to around €28.5m ($32.5m) gross. However, Vinicius had demanded a much higher wage more in line with Kylian Mbappe, the club's highest earner, who is paid around €31m ($35.4m) gross plus a significant bonus on top of that.
The talks ended what felt like "periods of significant distance between the parties" as The Athletic put it, bringing the two sides together in a way that hadn't happened for months.
What were Vinicius Jr. old wages at Real Madrid?
Salary was a major sticking point in the negotiations for a new deal for Vinicius.
In his contract signed in October 2023, he previously enjoyed gross earnings of €25m ($28.5m) per year. Diario AS in Spain reported that his wage structure in that deal was of an escalating nature, as he went from €10m net earnings in the first season to €18m in the final, averaging €15m ($17.3m) throughout the life of the contract.
In his old contract, Vinicius also owed 50% of his image rights to Real Madrid, which, according to Diario AS, paid for his wages given how much commercial income he generates.
Vinicius Jr. rejects chance to join Premier League club Arsenal
By signing his new Real Madrid contract, Vinicius denied Arsenal the chance to make a push for a blockbuster transfer.
The Gunners were widely reported to have made it clear to the player that they would be prepared to offer him a massive salary to bring him to the Premier League if he chose not to extend with Madrid.
The transfer initially felt fanciful, but there was certainly potential to make it happen. If the new agreement on a long-term deal had not been reached, there would have been no way Madrid president Florentino Perez would want to let such an enormously valuable asset walk for free next summer when Vinicius' contract expired.
Even if it broke his heart to consider the fact, Perez would have been well aware by now that Mbappe and Vinicius will continue to struggle to co-exist in the same lineup. Two top managers now in Carlo Ancelotti and Xabi Alonso both failed to create an environment where both can play the minutes they expect while being the focal point of the attack. Too often, the two players vulture each other's touches and chances in front of goal, to a level that is unsustainable.
The Telegraph reported on July 26 that Arsenal were prepared to offer Vinicius an improvement on his wages at Madrid, which would take him closer to those Mbappe figures he wants while smashing their own salary structure at the same time. It would, in simple terms, have been "the biggest contract in the club's history", and one that underlines their "soaring ambition".
In the end, the leverage worked in Vini's favor, and he was able to pressure Madrid into paying him close to his asking price.
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