Real Madrid can try to deny it, but Arsenal are putting real pressure on Vinicius Junior, whose contract speaks volumes about the truth of the situation. Because if Vinicius were really sold on Real Madrid and not thinking at all about leaving, then he would have signed a new extension a year ago - or at the very least at the beginning of this summer transfer window - instead of leaving Real's offer on the table and dragging on the proceedings.
With David Ornstein and Mario Cortegana of The Athletic now admitting that Arsenal have held talks with the 26 year old superstar and view him as the center of their project and even the future face of the Premier League while some executives at Real Madrid are actually open to selling, the prospect of Brazil's best player leaving the Santiago Bernabeu after two Champions League titles is suddenly quite palpable.
And it all boils down to the one thing every contract dispute is about; it's about money as a proxy for respect. Kylian Mbappe is making more than 30 million euros per season, 34 to be exact. And Vinicius Jr. wants 30 million euros per season, with Real currently offering a raise from 15 million euros to 20 million euros per season.
Vinicius Jr.'s future is looking bleak in Madrid
Not only does Vinicius want to be paid closer to Mbappe, though not exactly the same, as a means of showing that the two are on more even footing, he also wants to receive a heftier signing bonus and a better image rights deal closer to what Mbappe is getting. Real Madrid own 50 percent of Vini's image rights while they only have 20 percent of Mbappe's.
The reason for all of this is the hefty deal Real Madrid had to give to Kylian Mbappe, not just because Mbappe was the superstar Florentino Perez was obsessed with signing from PSG, but also because free agents end up getting better deals than anyone else because there is no transfer fee.
But now, Real Madrid are having to pay the consequences, because Vinicius Junior is understandably looking at that deal and wondering why he isn't getting something closer to that. Florentino, though, also has a pretty understandable position.
He knows that if he gives Vinicius a deal closer to Mbappe's and doesn't go along with his current logic that the deals are not comparable because one was a free agent contract and the other is not, then he has to negotiate better contracts with more money, higher image right percentages, and blockbuster guarantees for Jude Bellingham, Endrick, Fede Valverde, or whichever big name wants a new deal next - and Jude's, as the face of England, is the deal that would loom even larger than Vini's.
The Mbappe contract in free agency is the simple reason why Vinicius and Madrid are at such an impasse, and Florentino differentiating between the contracts rather than the caliber of the players is the complicated reason why that gap won't be bridged. It's not looking good for Vinicius and Madrid as a tandem.
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