There is a ‘rift for the ages’ in the Real Madrid dressing room right now and reports state a move for Erling Haaland is being targeted after Vinicius Jr has decided to quit Los Blancos in 2026.
Real Madrid are flying high this season, winning nine out of 10 in LaLiga and three from three in the Champions League. It’s been a dream start for new boss Xabi Alonso from a results perspective, but all is not well behind the scenes.
Earlier this week, The Athletic shed light on the growing discontent among senior players in the dressing room.
They stated there are claims Alonso “thinks he’s Pep Guardiola”, who for obvious reasons given his past at Barcelona, is despised in Madrid.
Furthermore, Alonso has upset players with his management style and tactical demands, including instructing stars to work harder out of possession or run the risk of being dropped.
The report did not mention Vinicius Jr specifically as being among those who are disgruntled with Alonso, though his antics last weekend in the 2-1 victory over Barcelona would strongly suggest he’s one of them.
Vinicius reacted angrily to his substitution in the second-half, twice mouthed“I’m leaving”, and attempted to confront Lamine Yamal in ugly post-match scenes.
The Brazilian has since offered a public apology for his actions on his social media channels. However, the latest from Spanish outlet Sport claims it’s already game over for Vinicius in Madrid.
The report declared: ‘The Brazilian winger has made a firm decision: he will leave Real Madrid if Xabi Alonso stays next season, and PSG is emerging as his most likely destination.’
Sport doubled and tripled down on those claims in their piece, insisting Vinicius has ‘had enough’ of Alonso already and ‘there’s no going back.’
Accordingly, the report stressed Vinicius has already reached a ‘decision’ and if Alonso stays, he will leave next summer.
Highlighting just how strained things have got, Sport also stated this current dressing room ‘rift’ is ‘one for the ages.’
The backdrop to this sorry saga is Vinicius’ contract extension, or lack thereof.
A prior report from Sport claimed Vinicius – whose deal is up in the summer of 2027 – wants parity in the wage department with Kylian Mbappe.
Real Madrid aren’t willing to make that commitment and with no new deal on the horizon, the winger’s future is reaching a crossroads.
Real Madrid aren’t content to let the 24-year-old run his contract down and leave on a free. Losing one of the world’s best players – who is also one of the world’s highest valued players – for nothing makes zero sense.
As such, Real Madrid are reportedly open to cashing in while they still can next summer. Given the latest from the publication, that is perfectly fine with Vinicius.
And as mentioned, his favoured destination right now is Luis Enrique’s all-conquering PSG.
Vinicius Jr out, Erling Haaland in?
Real Madrid’s No 1 target if Vinicius does go is Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian is perhaps the greatest striker playing the game right now, at least from the perspective of guaranteeing goals.
Haaland would be deployed centrally if brought to the Bernabeu, thus freeing Mbappe up to play in the left wing position vacated by Vinicius. Mbappe primarily played as a left winger during his time at PSG before being moved centrally in Madrid.
Of course, Manchester City would have a thing or two to say about losing the Premier League’s best striker.
Haaland is happy at City and under contract until 2034. There is a release clause in his deal but it does not become active until 2029.
In reality, Real Madrid may have to set a new world record if they’re to stand any chance of convincing Man City to cash in.
The most expensive transfer of all time remains the €222m PSG paid when signing Neymar from Barcelona back in 2017.
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