Vinicius Junior does not want to leave Real Madrid on a free transfer, and the reason he has given close friends is personal, not commercial.
The 26-year-old is entering the final year of a deal that runs until the summer of 2027.
Renewal talks have been on and off for more than 12 months without agreement, and Arsenal are preparing their first formal offer if the standoff continues into August.
According to Diario AS editor Tomás Roncero, the winger has been telling those closest to him he cannot bring himself to walk out without the club being paid.
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“I can’t leave Madrid for free because Madrid took me in when I was 18, from a humble family, with a difficult social and personal situation, and they believed in me.”
“Madrid has given me everything. I can’t leave without leaving a single euro in the bank.”
Speaking on Cadena SER’s El Larguero, Roncero added a note of caution:
“His agents are more calculating when it comes to negotiations.”
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Arsenal ready to test the market
Arsenal’s pursuit has been approved at every level of the club, per The Athletic’s James McNicholas, with Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg reporting that the Gunners are lining up a first bid.
The asking price is the hurdle.
Reports put the fee at a minimum £130m, with Real Madrid’s own valuation closer to £137m. Any move would also require a wage package heavy enough to break Arsenal’s existing salary structure.
Vinicius finished 2025/26 as Real Madrid’s second-highest scorer in La Liga.
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Renewal offer on the table
Real Madrid have now tabled a fresh renewal proposal and are hoping to close the gap after months of stalled negotiations.
Discussions are expected to pick up again once Vinicius returns from a summer break in his hometown of São Gonçalo.
The club paid Flamengo €45m for a 16-year-old with no senior European experience in 2017.
Eight years and two Champions League titles later, the sum looks trivial next to what it would now take to prise him away.
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