Vinicius Junior’s new contract at Real Madrid is reportedly expected to include a mammoth release clause of 1 billion euros in order to protect his stay at the Santiago de Bernabeu.
The presentation of Vinicius with his new contract has been delayed as club president, Florentino Perez, awaits to return a negative test for COVID-19 after recently testing positive.
There had been rumours that the possible arrival of Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain next summer would spark the departure of Vinicius but those rumours have seemingly been put to bed with news of his new contract and release clause.
The 23-year-old Brazilian international winger has spent much of this season injured but returned recently before the international break, scoring in Real Madrid’s 4-0 hammering of Osasuna at the weekend as Los Blancos went into the break sitting at the top-of-the-table in La Liga.
Vinicius began his youth career at the age of just five when he joined Rio de Janeiro-based giants of Brazilian football, Flamengo. After 12 years in their youth system, he made his professional debut for the club at the age of just 16 in 2017. Just a few weeks after that, it was confirmed he would move to Real Madrid on his 18th birthday, in July 2018, for a fee of £38 million. Whilst at Flamengo, he scored 14 goals in 69 appearances across all competitions.
Since joining Madrid, Vinicius has established himself as one of the best footballers in the world, already winning two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, two Supercopa de Espana trophies, one UEFA Champions League, a UEFA Super Cup and two FIFA Club World Cups.
He has already made 232 appearances at Madrid at the age of just 23, scoring 62 goals with a slow start to his career in the Spanish capital being ignited in 2021 when he had a 22-goal season and then followed that up with a 23-goal season last year.
