Real Madrid have been given plenty to think about with an historic offer on the table for winger Vinicius Jr.
The 25-year-old, ranked at no.3 in FourFourTwo's list of the best left wingers in the world right now, is widely regarded as one of the most valuable players in world football.
That would usually be enough to steer clubs away from considering an offer, especially for a Los Blancos player, but not in this case.
Vinicius Jr could become the most expensive player in history
The Brazil international recorded 41 goal involvements in 58 games last season, recovering well from his Ballon d’Or setback, which saw him snub the ceremony once it was revealed he’d been pipped to the main prize by Rodri.
He may not be completely out of the running for this year’s iteration, but Madrid agreeing this move for him would seemingly put to bed any thoughts of the game’s top individual award.
There is an offer on the table for Vinicius from an unnamed Saudi club which, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes, is worth a staggering €350m.
The current world record is the €222m deal that took Neymar from Barcelona to PSG back in 2017, a move that would be blown out of the water were this Vinicius offer to be accepted.
Los Blancos are not known for selling their top stars when they’re at the peak of their powers, but the figures involved are so big that Madrid are struggling to reject the advance out of hand.
The Brazilian only has two years left to run on his current deal at the Bernabeu, which is giving pause for thought in the Spanish capital as they weigh up the risk of losing the player for nothing in the not-too-distant future.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, with Cristiano Ronaldo unlikely to continue playing football forever (we think, at least), Saudi Arabia will need to consider who their next poster boy is going to be, and they will no doubt throw an obscene amount of money behind the right candidate.
Vinicius would be a landmark capture for the division, the first time the Saudi Pro League has managed to land one of the world’s best players at the beginning of his peak years, so they will pay a premium for the reputational boost alone.
The player himself would also likely do alright for himself, and although this would take him away from Europe’s top prizes, with a familiar face in Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout for his national team, a place at the upcoming World Cup is unlikely to be in doubt wherever he’s playing.
It’s not a move the purists will love, but there is plenty of motivation on all sides to make this one you could see happening.
Vinicius is valued at €170m, according to Transfermarkt.
