Jose Mourinho reveals how he convinced Vinicus Jr to reject record Arsenal tranfer and sign new Real Madrid contract

JOSE MOURINHO reveals how he convinced Vinicius Jr to snub a mega-money move to Arsenal and stay at Real madrid. The Brazil forward’s contract was running low at the Bernabeu, leading to interest from top clubs, including Mikel Arteta‘s Gunners. Jose Mourinho played huge role in keeping Vinicius Jr at Real Madrid Credit: PA Vinicius Jr ultimately stayed at Real Madrid despite intense interest from Arsenal Credit: Alamy The Premier League champions had their sights set on the Brazilian winger, 26, but were hit with a road block at the news of a brand new six-year contract extension. Mourinho, Real Madrid‘s new manager since the summer, spoke on how he played his part in keeping the Brazil international in the Spanish capital. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! Play Dream Team this season! £100,000 in prize money up for grabs in 2026/27 Free to enter Play in Mini Leagues against your mates £60,000 jackpot for the overall winner £1,000 prize for winning Gameweek 1 PLAY DREAM TEAM NOW! Jose, speaking on Spanish TV show El Chiringuito, said: “Vinicius has fallen in love with Real Madrid.” “You only understand Real Madrid when you leave. When you leave that’s when you realise what Real Madrid is. “Don’t leave. It’s not worth it.” Mourinho recently labelled Vini Jr as one of his four “untouchables” alongside Jude Bellingham, Yan Diomande and Kylian Mbappe. Although the Madrid star might have been tempted with a move to the Premier League champions, the Special One quickly quashed any of those ideas. However, some controversy arose between the two after Mourinho’s Benfica clashed with Los Blancos in last year’s Champions League. Most read in Sport During the knockout phase play-off, Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni allegedly racially abused Vinicius, with the game stopping for around eight minutes and Uefa handing the former a six-match ban. CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Mourinho defended his own player against Vinicius at the time, but now claims that Vinicius can “rely on me to be on his side.” Vinicius Junior is now on a staggering £480,000 per week, with Arsenal’s highest earner, Bukayo Saka, on £300,000. Comment now