Why Vinicius Junior is closer than ever to leaving Real Madrid

FT Desk

• Updated: 27 Oct 2025 11:13 CDT
• 5 min read

News

Vinicius Junior remains one of the best players in the world and a talent that any club in the world would be glad to have in their ranks.

However, the biggest club around are increasingly open to the idea of letting the Brazilian leave in 2026.

Let's look at some of the reasons why Vinicius Junior is closer than ever to leaving Los Blancos.

A world-record Saudi bid?

Before the arrival of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius was the undisputed king at the Santiago Bernabeu, even after the arrival of Jude Bellingham.

Now, it is clear that the World Cup winner is the face of the team and of the club at the moment. Though there doesn't appear to be any direct animosity between the pair, the Brazilian demanded in contract talks that he, at the very least, be put on par with Mbappe when it came to wages.

Vini's unhappiness at Madrid has put Saudi Arabian sides on high alert, some of whom are open to making him the most expensive player in history.

It was previously reported that Al-Ahli were in "direct talks" with Los Blancos over a deal.

Vinicius has less than two years remaining on his existing contract at Real Madrid and, as exclusively revealed by The Transfers Podcast in March, Los Blancos are willing to sanction a sale if he refuses to lower current wage demands.

A move to Saudi Arabia is on the cards and Al-Ahli are eager to win the race for his signature amid competition from several other clubs in the Middle East.

This has been confirmed by renowned social media account IndyKaila, who posted on X: “Exclusive. Al-Ahli in direct talks with Real Madrid regarding Vinicius Jr. Al Ahli to submit £300m (€345m) bid for the superstar.

“If the new Real Madrid contract offer is rejected by Vinícius Jr, the player will be sold to Saudi Arabia in the summer.”

Should such a transfer be completed, it would eclipse the current most expensive deal ever which was Neymar's €222m switch from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.

Behaviour concerns

Vini made headlines for the wrong reasons following El Clasico, despite playing a key role as Real Madrid overcame Barcelona 2-1 in a fiery affair this past Sunday.

Prior to the match, Lamine Yamal lit the touchpaper with comments about the integrity of the Bernabeu side, and if the teenage Barca star had intended to rile his opponents, it worked.

Dani Carvajal was notably seen criticising the winger, but it was Vini who exploded after the game when he became a major protagonist in a post-match scuffle, despite having been replaced 20 minutes earlier.

While the battle between the pumped-up Brazilian and the young Spaniard could have a long way to run in future Clasicos, this will depend on Vinicius Junior still being at Real Madrid for years to come.

The near-scrap happened for all the world to see, and reports coming out of Spain suggests club officials are not convinced this behaviour is becoming of a Real Madrid star.

“Vinicius is going too far, complaining when he was substituted then attacking Lamine Yamal at the end of the match,” AS reports. “Florentino Perez must intervene. This is affecting the club’s image.”

Jorge Valdano, a former sporting director at Real Madrid, told Movistar: “Vinicius is losing control. He’s coming off the rails.”

A high-profile fall out with Xabi Alonso

Vinicius was replaced with 20 minutes to go in the Clasico and wasn't happy to say the least.

He even took to saying the words that he was going to leave the club, in the heat of the moment.

“Always me,” he fumed as he trudged off after appealing to Xabi Alonso, according to The Athletic. “I’m leaving the team, it’s better if I leave, I’m leaving.”

After a spell in the dressing room, he came back out to the bench, where the coach had uttered, “Come on, Vini, damn it…” when the player was in the midst of his strop.

It’s not the first time that the pair have clashed. Alonso had planned to drop Vini Jr for the FIFA Club World Cup semi-final against PSG that ended in a 4-0 defeat. Had it not been for an injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold in the warm-up, the South American would not have started that game. When ultimately deployed, he was unhappy about playing as a right winger.

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•App Store