Real Madrid are planning to sell Vinicius Junior for a world-record €250million (£217.5m) fee to help them afford Erling Haaland, with a report revealing that their pursuit of the Manchester City star has taken a new twist.
Real Madrid have been trying to tie Vinicius down to a new contract for some time now. They have held several rounds of talks with the winger’s camp and recently started to gain confidence that an agreement might soon be struck.
But according to BBC Sport’s LaLiga expert Guillem Balague, Vinicius’ future at the Bernabeu is ‘less certain than ever’.
His current terms expire in June 2027 and Madrid are determined to extend them until at least 2030.
Progress has been made over a potential new salary but Vinicius’ advisers have told him to wait until he sees exactly what his role in the squad is.
Kylian Mbappe is the team’s new talisman, while Alonso has promised to play Rodrygo on the left more, which could affect Vinicius.
Publicly, Vinicius and Madrid insist all is well, but that does not appear to be the case behind the scenes…
According to CaughtOffside, Madrid are considering selling the Brazilian superstar to a Saudi Arabian club for a mind-blowing €250m.
A transfer at that price would obliterate the world transfer record, currently held by Neymar after his €222m (£200m) switch from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
Vinicius’ departure would give Madrid the funds to raid Man City for Haaland, which has long been a dream of club president Florentino Perez.
The report adds that Madrid have stepped up their pursuit of Haaland by making fresh ‘contact’ with his entourage in recent days.
Madrid want to find out if the goal machine would be open to leaving City and moving to LaLiga next summer.
While Haaland is currently very happy at City, Madrid know of his desire to eventually play in Spain and aim to use this to their advantage.
Perez wants Haaland to form an unstoppable strike partnership with Mbappe. This would put arguably the two best strikers in the world alongside each other, though whether they could work together remains to be seen.
Madrid know that City will demand an astronomical fee for Haaland, which is why they are weighing up selling Vinicius to increase their transfer budget.
City played a masterclass in January when they got Haaland to agree an incredible new nine-and-a-half-year contract. This means they are in control of the majority of his career.
The report does note that several dominoes would have to fall into place to see Haaland join Madrid in 2026.
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Real Madrid, Barcelona both want Erling Haaland
As such, there is a chance Madrid may have to admit defeat at some stage and postpone their swoop for the 25-year-old until a later date.
Barcelona, like Madrid, have identified Haaland as a dream addition to their forward line. Barca want him to succeed from Robert Lewandowski.
But Hansi Flick’s side have far less money to spend than Madrid, which makes such a transfer even harder.
Barca may have to settle for a lesser known LaLiga striker instead, though the 21-year-old is earning himself a huge reputation.
Returning to Haaland, Pep Guardiola recently confirmed that a host of clubs around Europe – including Barca – are interested in his player.
But Guardiola thinks Haaland ‘isn’t stupid enough’ to leave City so soon after penning a massive new contract.
City midfield revamp; Madrid in for Dortmund star
Meanwhile, TEAMtalk has analysed whether a midfield overhaul could be coming at City amid three transfer rumours.
We have also taken a look at five managers who might join after Guardiola was surprisingly urged to quit.
Elsewhere, Madrid are reportedly hoping to beat Barca to a €55m Dortmund player.
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