Vinícius Júnior contract talks stall with Real Madrid

Talks over a new contract for Vinícius Júnior at Real Madrid have been stalled for weeks, a source said, with the Brazil international's representatives believing it wouldn't make sense to accept the club's latest offer.

Vinícius, 25, has a deal which runs until June 2027 and earns him around €17 million ($19.8 million) net per season, including bonuses.

In May, the two camps were able to narrow their differences during a meeting, with some sources saying they thought an agreement was close.

The forward's entourage hoped to increase his salary to a fixed €20 million per season, with variables that could increase that figure up to €30 million.

However, the club's final offer was just €20 million, without including the extra €10 million in bonuses.

As a result, the player's representatives believe the increase would be too small and would not justify a three-season extension until 2030.

Instead, Vinícius' agents, Fred Pena and Thássilo Soares, have opted to wait and see how the 2025-26 season progresses, monitoring coach Xabi Alonso's plans for the Brazilian, before making a decision.

 Alonso considered leaving Vinícius on the bench for Madrid's Club World Cup semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain in July, and playing with two forwards, before the late withdrawal of Trent Alexander-Arnold forced a change of plans.

Federico Valverde was then moved to right-back, and Vinícius kept his place in the starting XI alongside Gonzalo García and Kylian Mbappé.

Madrid took the first step towards renewing the star player's contract in February, despite the fact that Vinícius still had two years left on his contract.

Negotiations began earlier than usual, after it emerged that the forward was the subject of interest from the Saudi Pro League.

However, as ESPN has reported, that Saudi interest has since cooled.