It seems likely that Vinicius Junior's contract saga will be ending him extending his stay at Real Madrid. There have been months of twists and turns regarding the Brazilian winger's future at the Estadio Bernabeu.
Vinicius's fall from grace this season has been alarming, with the 25-year-old going 18 games without scoring until the Supercopa de Espana final. He scored the goal of the night in a 3-2 loss to Barcelona which proved to be Xabi Alonso's last game in charge.
It was almost as if Vinicius was sending Alonso a message as he bowed out of the Bernabeu. The Spaniard was dimissed the day after in a decision that is still being debated by Madridistas.
The latest update on Vinicius' situation suggests he is ready to now stay at Madrid following Alonso's departure. The Brazilian reportedly told the club that he wouldn't extend his contract while Alonso was in charge, per Cadena SER (via Madrid Zone).
Whether or not Florentino Perez felt pressurised to part with Alonso in order to keep Vinicius happy is not known. But there's no denying the swift decision came during a detoriarting relationship with the player and coach.
Vinicius has been one of Europe's best attacking talents ever since arriving at the Bernabeu in the summer of 2018. He has put in some of the most important performances in Los Blancos' history including in Champions League final wins over Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.
That said, his attitude has been a concern and this season he has shown frustration on several occasions especially in response to Alonso's subbing him off. That's why it feels as though he told the board that 'it's more or the coach' and after the loss to Barca they had a reason to pull the plug on the 44-year-old.
Arbeloa's early handling of Vinicius speaks volumes
The report above claims that Alonso's temporary replacement, Alvaro Arbeloa, intends to give Vinicius a "huge" role in his team, making him one of the faces of the squad alongside Kylian Mbappe. While the Brazilian struggled under Alonso, that wasn't the case for Mbappe, who enjoyed red-hot form.
Arbeloa has already made clear he's going to play favorites with Vinicius and the board, protecting him from criticism. He somehow viewed his performance in the embarrassing Copa del Rey defeat to Spanish minnows Albacete as a display of his leadership.
The Spaniard wasn't fooling most Madridistas who took umbrage with those claims. If he continues to overprotect his winger he risks losing the fans who are well aware of the struggles this team are encountering but expect more from their Brazilian.