Vinicius Faces Saudi Bid: 'I Cannot Betray the Madrid Fans'
Al Ahli have pushed the offer for the Brazilian close to €350 million, his Madrid contract runs to 30 June 2027, the club wants an extension before June 2026, the player is asking for €20 million net a year.
Vinicius’s mother Tatiana said on Sunday at her son’s birthday gathering in Sao Paulo, on camera:
He loves Madrid like his own children, but with a €4 million gap to the Saudis, nothing is certain.
His father, Vinicius Sr., who bought a second fish market hall in Brazil last month, later said his wife’s comment was conditional and that the club should not be nervous. But the nerves are already visible in the words of Florentino Perez, who told reporters on Tuesday:
This is no longer a football question, it is a question about the future of Madrid.
What is on the table
Saudi side Al Ahli has pushed its offer for Vinicius Junior close to €350 million over the last ten days. That would be a world-record transfer fee. The Jeddah club is offering the Brazilian a five-year deal with €1 billion in guaranteed wages. That works out at €200 million per season, plus additional fees and bonuses.
Real Madrid for their part want Vinicius to extend before 30 June 2026. That is a deadline the president himself set.
What that means in numbers and psychology
Vinicius currently has a Madrid contract worth €12 million a season, running through 30 June 2027. Extension talks have run since February. But they are stuck on a number.
The structural gap looks like this:
- the player wants €20 million net, which is roughly €36 million gross under the Spanish tax system
- the club is willing to raise the salary to €13 million net
- loyalty bonuses across the full deal would add up to €18 million
The gap itself is not huge. But for the Spanish tax structure, it is significant.
The signing bonus, the second hurdle
The second hurdle is the signing bonus Vinicius’s agent Frederico Pena is asking for. Pena says the player is owed €25 million as a “fair re-entry to the 2026 market”.
The club said in March it is not ready to sign that clause. It would trigger a chain reaction with Bellingham and Mbappe, who are in the same negotiation tier.
The numbers on the pitch
Vinicius scored 22 goals in La Liga this season, a career best. He added six in the Champions League knockout stages. But Real fell to Arsenal in the semi-finals.
That happens to be the Brazilian’s last big match in the club shirt. In the usual rhythm of football, after a defeat like that and a mood like Florentino’s, a transfer becomes real.
What next, when we will know
The deadlines are clear:
- Florentino has until 15 June to decide between extension and transfer list
- Al Ahli has until 30 June to sign the player and register him for the Saudi Cup, which starts in July
- if no deal is reached by then, the club waits for summer 2027, when Vinicius reaches free agency with no compensation
My pick
Personally, I give Vinicius 65 percent to move to Saudi Arabia. The reason is not football. The Brazilian loves the stage and is fighting for a Ballon d’Or he lost in 2024.
The reason is the structure of the offer. The Saudis are offering him a clause that guarantees a return to Europe after two seasons. In practice, that means he can earn €200 million a season for two years in Arabia, then come back to Madrid or another club as a free agent. No European club can offer that structure.
Vinicius’s agent Pena travelled to Madrid on Tuesday for a meeting with Perez. The meeting lasted 85 minutes. Both men walked out in silence. A new session is set for tomorrow, with a fallback date next Wednesday to lock the final decision.
