It has become likely that Vinicius Junior will leave Real Madrid during the upcoming winter transfer window, after his relationship with coach Xabi Alonso began to deteriorate, while negotiations to renew his contract with the club remain at a standstill.
A near-agreement arose between Vinicius and Real Madrid prior to the 2025 Club World Cup on a renewal, but with the arrival of Xabi Alonso to lead Los Blancos, everything stalled, and negotiations between the two parties have not yet been renewed.
Vinicius’s desire was to continue with Real Madrid. It is said that during the last meeting last May, he significantly reduced his financial demands, having previously wanted five times what Florentino Pérez had offered him. An agreement was imminent, but things changed completely after that.
According to AS, Alonso doesn’t see Vinicius as important as former coach Carlo Ancelotti did. The Spanish coach is not fully convinced of the Brazilian’s ability to make a difference in difficult times, unlike Kylian Mbappé, for example.
In principle, Vinicius is not expected to renew his contract with Real Madrid anytime soon. Three scenarios are looming. The most realistic scenario is for the player to leave next summer after the 2026 World Cup. The option of continuing for another year and then leaving in the summer of 2027 is also strongly on the table.
The most surprising scenario is for Vinicius to leave early, specifically next January. This is an option on the player’s mind if he continues to feel marginalized by Alonso. In that case, he would either move to the English Premier League or seek a new, larger offer from the Saudi League.
Alonso started Rodrygo’s last Champions League match against Marseille, which angered Vinicius after he was benched. It’s expected that the 25-year-old’s form won’t improve much in the coming period unless he performs at his old level when given opportunities to play.
