Santiago Cañizares does not accept the framing of Vinicius Júnior’s new contract as a triumph. On El Partidazo de COPE, the former Spain international argued the extension was signed by default, not by choice.
“There has been a debate this summer. He had one year left on his contract and either you sell him or you don’t sell him. What he gives you football-wise for what he takes from you. Do you know what happened? Which is that no one wants him. Nobody wants a player like that at their club,” Cañizares said, according to Yahoo Sports.
“And I don’t think he has had any offer. Real Madrid have been obliged and in need of renewing him because surely no team has contacted him or his agent because nobody wants a player with these characteristics.”
He then added a pointed jab at where he thought the market really was.
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“Well yes, maybe a lesser team may want him… someone like Newcastle.”
The extension itself is not in doubt. Real Madrid announced on 6 August that Vinicius had agreed a new deal linking him to the club until 30 June 2032, closing months of speculation over a Brazilian who had entered the final year of his previous contract.
Getting there was messy. Managing Madrid, citing El Larguero, reported that Vinicius rejected an offer of €22m net per season through 2031, holding out for €30m and a signing bonus the club refused to concede. Talks dragged on for more than a year before both sides moved.
Mourinho fights his forward’s corner
The verdict has landed in a season that has already reopened the old fight over how Vinicius is treated on Spanish pitches. José Mourinho, in his first match back as Real Madrid coach, defended his forward after the 2-1 win at Espanyol on 22 August.
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“Vinicius is no saint, but what they’re doing to him was too much. Right from the first minute,” Mourinho said.
“We’re in an era where society is against bullying, yet with Vini we’re still seeing bullying.”
Espanyol’s own official X account answered that debate with a jab of their own after the match.
“How many swimming pools does it take to get a second yellow card? Asking for a friend.”
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