Vinicius Jr Sent Emotional Transfer Proposal From Club He Promised to Join

Vinicius Jr’s expiring Real Madrid contract has given rival suitors confidence to go public with their transfer plans.

Vinicius Junior’s Real Madrid contract runs out in 2027. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

Flamengo sporting director José Boto insisted that the door is “always open” for Vinicius Junior to return to his boyhood club, a move which the winger has already promised to make at some point in his career.

Boto’s comments were emboldened by Vinicius Jr’s ongoing contractual issues with Real Madrid. There has not yet been any progress in an agreement to extend his stay in the Spanish capital, which is set to expire in 18 months.

“The contract is about to end, we won’t have to pay Real Madrid anything,” Boto knowingly admitted during his team’s presentation of new signing Lucas Paquetá. “His contract is about to end, he sent me a nice gift, an autographed jersey. You can only fight for these kinds of players when they really want to come. It depends more on Vini than on us. The door is always open for Vini.”

There is no doubt that a return to Flamengo has been a point of consideration for Vinicius.

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Would Vinicius Jr Really Return to Flamengo?

Vinicius Junior has not played for Flamengo since he was a teenager. | Daniel Castelo Branco/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Back in December, Boto mischievously claimed that Flamengo’s legendary export will “want to come back” to his first club. While chiefly incendiary in nature, this comments were not entirely without merit.

During the summer of 2023, Vinicius Jr flew back to Rio de Janeiro to watch Flamengo thrash arch-rivals Vasco da Gama in the Maracanã. “It’ll take a while, but I will be back one day [to Flamengo],” he promised. “Very happy to be here at Maracanã, at Flamengo and at a classic. Very happy for everything they did for me. That I can stand firm to continue the fight for those to come.”

The Rio native first joined Flamengo as a spindly 10-year-old, rapidly catching the eye with a skein of mazy dribbles. Real Madrid soon took notice. Vinicius Jr was on the front cover of Spanish sports daily Marca before appearing in his first senior training session. He commanded an outrageous fee of €45 million ($53.2 million) at the age of just 16 with 17 minutes of professional football to his name.

The deal with Madrid allowed Vinicius to rack up 69 appearances for Flamengo before he moved to Spain after his 18th birthday. Yet, the idea of his boyhood club as a safe haven away from the mental and physical demands of European football overlooks the difficulties he faced as a teenager.

Vinicius Jr was targeted by rivals supporters after sealing his big-money move. “It was not just against me,” he told The Guardian in 2020. “Some Brazilian fans have problems with the success of [people] in other areas of life. They even dislike Neymar, for instance ... I don’t like to think of these bad moments in my career, but I surely hope that I can make every Brazilian cheer for me one day.”

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How Can Vinicius Jr and Real Madrid Come to a Contract Resolution?

Vinicius Junior’s future at the Bernabéu remains uncertain. | Alvaro Medranda/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Vinicius Jr clearly loves playing for Real Madrid. Despite amassing a staggering trophy haul, including two Champions League trophies after scoring in the final, he is still booed by the insatiable Bernabéu crowd, yet he keeps on coming back for more.

“I want to stay here for a long time,” he declared as recently as January. “There’s also a lot of talk about my contract renewal because I have another year left. We’re very relaxed about it. I trust [Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez], and he trusts me. We have a very good relationship, and we’ll sort things out at the right time. We’re in no hurry to do that.”

These negotiations are expected to resume after the World Cup, by which time Vinicius Jr will have less than a year left on his contract. Six months after the global tournament, foreign clubs—including Flamengo—can even begin discussing a potential pre-contract agreement ahead of a free transfer in the summer of 2027.

Vinicius Jr is thought to be demanding a €30 million annual wage packet made up of a guaranteed €20 million with a further €10 million available in bonuses. Real Madrid’s counter offer—which they are yet to show any signs of improving—is reportedly a fixed €20 million. For context, his current salary, with all triggers hit, is thought to top out at €17 million per year.

If Vinicius Jr were consistently performing at the levels which empowered his representatives to first make this demand back when he was the favorite for the Ballon d’Or, Madrid would perhaps feel more inclined to climb to those sums.

Yet a winger who has scored one league goal in the last four months is in no strong bargaining position.

Madrid, and president Pérez, have proven to be ruthless, parting ways with legends in the form of Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos when it suited the club, rather than the player. If Vinicius Jr cannot manifestly improve his form by the time both parties sit down in the summer—a prominent World Cup showing would certainly help—he may be forced to wind back his demands.

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