Real Madrid and Vinícius Júnior are reportedly in an agreement over a new long-term contract, but one that breaks the existing salary structure in place at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Viní Jr. has two more seasons left on his current deal but is heavily linked with a world-record transfer to the Saudi Pro League that could make him the planet’s top paid soccer player. The figure talked about in recent months is €1 billion ($1.137 billion) over five seasons.
However, the key breakthrough appears to have come via a compromise on salary demands.
SPORT writes that a new deal until 2030 would pay Viní Jr. more than €20 million ($22.7 million) in net salary each season. It isn’t as much as the €30 million ($34.1 million) he requested, but does break the €15 million ($17.1 million) limit Real Madrid usually imposes.
Viní Jr. is now set to be paid as much as Kylian Mbappé, the highest-paid player on the roster. The Frenchman is thought to earn a considerable proportion of his annual salary from a signing bonus agreed when he allowed his Paris Saint-Germain contract to expire last summer.
But even though ignoring the club’s self-imposed salary cap on this occasion will mean Viní Jr. stays, there is now a “risk” that other players see the situation as a way to secure their own payday, SPORT warn.
The example of Jude Bellingham, third in the 2024 Ballon d’Or standings, is given. The England midfielder, currently on a par with Viní Jr., will be in the Brazilian’s contract position in 2027 and could plausibly also ask for more than €15 million ($17.1 million). It also begs the question of how players like Federico Valverde, in the second string in terms of salary structure, will take it.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid ‘Reach Risky’ Vinicius Junior Contract Agreement.