Arsenal dealt major transfer blow as Vinicius Jr AGREES new contract with Real Madrid after crunch talks

VINICIUS JUNIOR has agreed a new six-year contract to stay at Real Madrid. And that means he will NOT move to Arsenal this summer. Vinicius Junior has agreed a new Real Madrid contract Credit: Getty Mikel Arteta misses out on the Brazilian winger Credit: Reuters Vinicius, 26, had one year left on his deal at the Bernabeu. But negotiations were at a standstill for months, opening the door for Arsenal to make an ambitious approach. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! However, talks on Wednesday between his representatives and the Real Madrid top brass – aided by Jose Mourinho – proved successful. And according to The Athletic, the agreement is sorted for the renewal, with Fabrizio Romano adding he will be tied down until 2032, earning an estimated £480,000 per week. Real are expected to announce the news by the end of the week. Vinicius first started conversations over an extension way back in January 2025. But as the months ticked away, they seemed no closer to reaching a deal, despite his preference remaining to stay in Madrid. Earlier this year, the winger made it clear he wanted a £25million annual packet – including base salary, add-ons and a renewal bonus. Most read in Football BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Jose Mourinho sees Vinicius as a key starter Credit: Getty The winger is back in pre-season with Real Madrid Credit: Getty But after several rounds of talks failed, especially around the renewal bonus, it is understood Los Blancos came in with a serious offer on Wednesday to reflect his importance to the team. General director Jose Angel Sanchez and chief scout Juni Calafat were joined by Mourinho for the discussions. And it clearly did the trick as Vinicius agreed to put pen to paper and commit his future to Real – on the day the club also signed Yan Diamande for £115million. He previously turned down an offer of around £360,000 per week and was looking to be paid a similar amount to £500,000-a-week superstar Kylian Mbappe. Real were desperate to avoid Vinicius walking away for free next summer – with Arsenal ready to swoop should he continue to refuse a new deal. The Gunners squad reportedly believed Vinicius would sign for the Premier League champions after the heads-up from sporting director Andrea Berta – and were further excited when Vini deleted all of his posts from Instagram. But Mourinho made it clear he wanted Vinicius as part of his plans after the Portuguese manager’s return. He sees the 54-cap Samba star as one of six undroppable automatic starters, alongside Mbappe, Thibaut Courtois, Marc Cucurella, Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham. Vinicius spoke publicly for the first time this week since the speculation became public – but insists he is focused on pre-season under new boss Mourinho. The forward – who has 128 goals in 376 games for Real Madrid across eight seasons – said: “Very well, getting to know the new manager, the new players and working really hard in training. “He wants me to be just as I’ve always been – happy, positive and playing my own style of football.” Arsenal, therefore, are left continuing their search for a new left winger. Bradley Barcola was linked but now looks set to head to Liverpool instead. Comment now