Vinicius Jr. has emerged as one of Real Madrid’s most important players this season. There were no locked-in starters alongside Karim Benzema in Madrid’s forward line at the beginning of the season. But since then, Vini has quickly claimed the LW position as his to keep. He has established himself as one of the most dynamic and prolific players in La Liga.
For Vinicius, the outburst could not have come at a better time, as his performance has set him up for a huge contract extension. Vinicius currently already earns roughly 270,000 euros a week, one of the higher earners on the team. But still behind the old guard of veterans like Bale, Modric, and Benzema.
His contract is up after the 2023-24 season, so it is a good time for the club to start thinking about locking his services up long term. Real Madrid and Vinicius are reportedly on the same page, with both sides hoping to get a deal done after the season.
There are a number of factors that will determine what Vini’s new contract will look like. First, we can look at the type of deals Madrid usually offers to young players. Recently, Real Madrid extended 23-year-old midfielder Federico Valverde. He signed a new deal last August, extending his contract to go from 2025 to 2027. This deal saw his release clause increase to close to 1 billion euros – and his pay increase. Valverde’s salary is unconfirmed, but it is rumored to be in the range of 160,000 euros per week.
We can assume that Vinicius’ deal will have a similar structure to this. His current deal ending in 2024 will likely be extended to end around 2028. With his release clause also being set around 1 billion euros, AS reports. The wages are the biggest question mark surrounding this potential new deal. Once Bale and Marcelo are off the books next season, and pending any arrivals, Vinicius will already be a top 6 earner at the club earning around 270,000 euros a week.
The top forwards in the world earn around 350,000 to 550,000 euros per week. For example, Mo Salah is reportedly seeking 400,000 euros per week for his new deal. Kylian Mbappe reportedly earns 543,000 euros per week.
Vinicius Jr. could make more than 300,000 euros per week
He is still young and not quite as established as those two, so it would make sense for Vinicius Jr. to get a wage increase to the lower end of that bracket, in the 300,000-350,000 euros a week range. This would put Vinicius firmly in the top earners at Real Madrid, while keeping him below established veterans and leaving room for potential new arrivals like Kylian Mbappe and/or Erling Haaland on the wage bill.
Vinicius was purchased by the club in the summer of 2018 for around 43 million euros. The majority of the transfer fee will be paid for through the end of the season, but extending the contract allows the remainder of that fee to be spread out over the length of the new extended contract.
While this will not make a huge difference since most of the fee has been accounted for already, it will help to offset the increase in wages that Vinicius will receive with the new deal. Because of the low amortization cost, extending Vini is much cheaper than going out and signing someone to replace him would be. Given Vini’s age and performance this season, most view him as irreplaceable anyways.
A new contract for Vinicius is a no-brainer for both parties, and we should hear of the agreement being finalized shortly after this season concludes.