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News
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Rodrygo future takes unexpected twist as Real Madrid respond to Vini Jr 'blackmail'
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 17 Jul 2025 13:27 BST
- 5 min read
News
Rodrygo continues to attract attention from Premier League sides Liverpool and Arsenal, but the Real Madrid star’s future could be tied to that of club-mate Vinicius Junior.
Los Blancos have a wealth of attacking talent at the command of head coach Xabi Alonso. Kylian Mbappe, Vini Jr, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo are just some of the superstar forwards vying for game time under the new manager.
Compared
Vinicius Junior
F (CL), M (L)
Real Madrid
Vinicius Junior
F (CL), M (L)
Real Madrid
VS
Rodrygo
F (CR), M (R)
Real Madrid
Rodrygo
F (CR), M (R)
Real Madrid
|
|
ETV |
|
| €91M - €111.2M | ETV Range | €88.3M - €107.9M |
| 25 years old (12 Jul, 2000) | Age | 24 years old (09 Jan, 2001) |
|
Brazil
|
Nationality |
Brazil
|
With Rodrygo struggling to get game time under Alonso at the Club World Cup, the prevailing thinking was that he could leave the club in the summer.
While Real Madrid do not want to sell the 24-year-old, a transfer request from the player would have changed everything.
Although a €100 million price tag has been placed on his head, Liverpool are weighing up such a move for the Brazil star. Arsenal are also seriously interested in him.
But events at Real Madrid could soon see Rodrygo come off the market.
Real Madrid will not be ‘blackmailed’ by Vini Jr
Vinicius Junior’s situation at the Bernabeu continues to be dramatic. The Transfers Podcast revealed in March that the Real Madrid board were growing tired of the player’s ‘bluff’ over interest from the Saudi Pro League.
Football transfer expert Duncan Castles explained: “Madrid have got tired of Vinicius saying: ‘I have this huge offer from Saudi Arabia, you're going to have to make me the best-paid player in the club.’
“Real have essentially said: ‘Well, look, if you've got such a good offer, you should take that offer up because we are not going to give you a better salary than Mbappe.’
He’s problematic, they feel, outside the dressing room, and he doesn't always put the team's interests first.
- Duncan Castles on Vini Junior, The Transfers Podcast (March, 2025)“The feedback I'm getting is that he's become a relatively difficult player to handle. He’s problematic, they feel, outside the dressing room, and he doesn't always put the team's interests first.”
It is an impasse that continues to plague the club, according to Sport, which indicates that Vini Jr still wants Real Madrid to break their salary cap to accommodate him.
Now Los Blancos are “seriously considering the transfer” of either Vinicius Junior or Rodrygo.
Should Vini be the player placed on the transfer market, that would take Rodrygo off the board, particularly as Jude Bellingham is scheduled to miss the next three months after undergoing surgery earlier this week.
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