Man Utd and two Premier League rivals eyed ambitious Vinicius move before Real Madrid deal

Bale coy on club future after leaving Real Madrid

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Manchester United were among the Premier League sides to enquire about the availability of Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr last season, according to reports in Spain. Vinicius is poised to sign a new bumper contract with Real this summer as the Spanish giants take a huge step towards warding off interest in the Brazilian youngster.

Vinicius has been earmarked as a star from a very young age, with Real Madrid paying Flamengo £38million to sign the forward when he was just 16 years old. He arrived in the Spanish capital in July 2018 when he turned 18 having become one of the most expensive teenagers in world football.

Real are really beginning to see a return on that investment. Vinicius enjoyed by far his best season at the club in 2021/22, contributing 22 goals and 20 assists in 52 appearances across all competitions. The 21-year-old is currently under contract until June 2024 – and that has given rival clubs hope he could be poached.

According to Marca, Vinicius was courted by Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Liverpool and United over the past year. All of those clubs were given short shrift by Real, who are now about to secure their prize asset to a long-term contract.

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Vinicius is about to more than double his wages from £2.77m per year to £8.67m, with Real extending his deal until June 2026. Just to make absolutely clear that he is not for sale, Los Blancos will also include a £870m (€1bn) release clause. The deal will be made official next month, once all the paperwork is signed.

Real will then breathe a sigh of relief, given the eye-catching offer PSG had reportedly made to Vinicius during the last season. PSG were reportedly ready to hand Vinicius a contract worth £34.3m-a-year if he moved to the Parc des Princes – a deal approximately four times more lucrative than the one he has just agreed to.

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Despite PSG’s pestering, Real chief Florentino Perez said recently that the club were never considering selling Vinicius. “Nobody wants to sell Vinicius,” Perez told El Chiringuito.

“I think he’s going to be the Ballon d’Or for sure, like [Karim] Benzema is going to be now. I think he will be amazing. The 18-year-old boy who came to Castilla, he is not the one we know now. Every year he improves. Are there problems renewing Vinicius? None. He always says that he will not move from Madrid.”

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