Vinicius between Bernabeu and Saudi, the June deadline knocks on the door

At Bernabeu on Wednesday night, after a winning Cup match, Vinicius Junior walked through the tunnel with a sly smile. Waiting for him at the exit was Florentino Perez, the club’s president. The conversation lasted fifteen minutes at the door of the dressing room.

The next month could decide the Brazilian international’s career. Real Madrid has set a deadline of June 2026 for Vinicius to sign an extension, or he goes to the transfer market as a player with less than two years left on his contract.

What led to the deadline

Negotiations with Vinicius’s agent Frederico Pena have been running since October last year. The Brazilian camp asked for Vinicius to become Real’s highest-paid player, meaning a salary above Kylian Mbappe.

The Madrid club refused on the grounds of dressing-room balance. Vinicius then arranged a meeting with Mbappe at a private residence, where talk about the old feud between the two stars was closed out.

Vinicius has to decide whether he wants to be one of Real’s two stars for the next five years, or whether he wants to take the path the Saudi league has opened for him, the club’s sporting director said in an official statement.

The June deadline was set as standard procedure for a player with little contract time left. After 1 July 2026, Real would have to accept a transfer or accept Vinicius running down his contract and a free exit in 2027.

The Saudi offer on the table

Al Ahli put a concrete package on the table in February. A five-year contract with wages above 200 million euros per season. The total figure, with bonuses, exceeds one billion euros.

• 200 million euros annual salary
• 5-year contract length
• 50 million signing bonus
• 30 million extra per season for marketing activities
• 80 million transfer fee for Real

If Vinicius accepts, he becomes the highest-paid player in football history. If he refuses, he stays at Bernabeu with a new contract that would have to push into 25 million euros per season.

The Brazilian for now doesn’t want to

Signals from the player’s circle suggest Vinicius does not want to leave Europe at age 26. The 2026 World Cup in the US is part of his plans, and playing at the top level in La Liga is part of preparing for that tournament.

Coach Alvaro Arbeloa, with whom he works in the 2025/26 season, gave him greater freedom in choosing his positions, which is part of why Vinicius prefers staying in Madrid.

I am not looking for new challenges outside Europe at this stage of my career. If I can keep winning trophies with Real, my first ambition is to continue doing that, Vinicius said in his statement to Brazil’s Esporte Interativo.

Madrid finishes the season without the Champions League trophy, which gives the club and the player an extra motive to continue working together through an extension.

What the calendar brings until June

Three meetings are scheduled. The first at the end of May with Vinicius’s father, the second in early June with the club’s agent, the third around 25 June as the cut-off point.

Real has the option of pushing the deadline by a few days if negotiations go constructively. The Saudi club Al Ahli, for its part, waits for a decision until mid-July, until the transfer window opens release clauses.

The Brazilian international meanwhile has to prepare for the World Cup in the US. Brazil’s national team preparations begin in Sao Paulo at the end of June, giving Vinicius a natural break from negotiations.

Will Real Madrid manage to keep Vinicius as the club’s second star for the next five years, or will the Saudi billion-euro offer close his European chapter before the World Cup?