Real Madrid: Why Lucas Vazquez rejected recent renewal offer

Real Madrid winger Lucas Vazquez has been one of the standouts of the team this season, which is perfect timing for him, considering his contract is up.

After closing a new deal with Luka Modric, whose contract was set to expire at the end of the 2020-2021 season, Real Madrid still have two expiries to negotiate. Superstar center back Sergio Ramos is the focus, as the club captain must be retained. He is too important. But Lucas Vazquez has also asserted himself as an important part of the squad, even though he seemed to be on the way out before the season started.

Vazquez is enjoying his best season in ages, which comes after he frustrated many Madridistas with his low-quality displays in 2019-2020. This season, Vazquez has helped the team as a right back and right winger, playing the former position when both Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola were injured. He isn’t a true right back, but he delivered in two huge wins over Barcelona and Borussia Monchengladbach.

He’s now become the regular starting right winger, too, scoring and assisting in the most recent 2-0 win over Celta Vigo. Because he’s playing so well, Los Blancos are expected to keep him.

However, MARCA’s Jose Felix Diaz reports that Lucas Vazquez actually rejected Real Madrid’s first contract offer to him. That took Madridistas by surprise, because you’d think a player who was on the periphery of the squad before 2020-2021 and who basically bleeds Royal White would readily accept a new offer.

Lucas Vazquez seems to want Real Madrid to pay him more

Vazquez reportedly declined the offer because he was not satisfied with the terms of the deal.

Libertad Digital’s Sergio Valentin added more context to why Vazquez rejected Real’s contract renewal offer. He reports that Vazquez feels slighted that players with less first-team experience and with, in his eyes, lesser roles are making more money per year.

It’s understandable that Vazquez wants to be paid and valued more, but there are two key issues here. Firstly, Vazquez is a quality player in the squad, but he is not a star of the future. He has little upside. So if there are less experienced players making more money per year, then it is because they could become superstars in a few seasons.

Secondly, the timing of the deal matters. Vazquez is signing a new contract during a pandemic that has hurt Real Madrid financially. They cannot afford to give Vazquez a big contract. It just isn’t smart business when they have bigger needs. And on this note, let’s refer back to the younger players. When they signed, Madrid had to give him bigger deals in order to convince them to sign with Los Blancos instead of another club. Real Madrid aren’t as worried about losing Vazquez to another club, which cuts into Vazquez’s value.

Real Madrid is the best place for Vazquez, and he can be a quality piece of the puzzle for Los Merengues. Hopefully, an agreement is reached, but it sounds like it will take a little bit more bargaining before anything comes together.