Vinicius and the lure of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is continuing its plan for economic expansion and diversification in all sectors so as not to depend solely on the hydrocarbon market, the main source of national financing.
The Vision 2030 plan, which has been in place for several years, pursues this objective under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The aim is to invest significant amounts of money in different sectors in order to better position the country by attracting talent and technological developments from other countries to improve the country's industrial and sectoral fabric. All of this with a view to establishing strong sectors that can generate more wealth and brand image for the country.
And sport is no exception to this strategy, specifically football, in order to make the Saudi kingdom a benchmark in this field.
For the last couple of seasons, the Saudi Pro League has been investing a lot of money in the signing of some of the best European and Latin American players on the football scene. The high salaries on offer are a major attraction for these players, who have in many cases left more powerful competitions to join the Saudi league. A lower level competition at the moment, but one that aspires to reach the level of the best by pulling in the big bucks.
Many names such as Karim Benzema, Ngolo Kanté, Neymar and even megastar Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Saudi teams for huge salaries that could not be matched by other top clubs in Europe. Saudi teams have even recruited players from reigning Champions League winners Real Madrid, such as Nacho and Joselu, for this season. It is true that many have already headed to the Saudi kingdom at the end of their careers to get that last big contract before retiring.
But the Saudi ambition does not stop there, now the target seems to be focused on Vinicius, as reported by various media such as the Spanish sports daily AS.
According to these reports, Vinicius would not have rejected the proposal, but mostly because there is still no firm offer and he cannot reject something that does not exist as such yet. However, the Brazil international could be open to at least listening to the Saudi proposal.
The Madrid striker is perhaps the most highly rated player at international level at the moment, after a great season in which he won the Spanish League and the European Cup with Real Madrid, the 15th for Madrid's trophy cabinet. He is also many people's favourite to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or award for the best player of the last year.
And for Saudi Arabia, he would be a top-level signing that would put the Saudi Pro League in the showcase of the best competitions.
Madrid recently renewed Vinicius' contract, increasing his salary and setting a termination clause of 1 billion euros, prohibitive for any normal club, but not far short of the potential that Saudi Arabia's economic might can unleash for any of the top teams in the domestic league.
According to some reports, Saudi interest could be as high as 400 million euros for Madrid and an exorbitant salary for the player. According to Reuters, citing unnamed sources, Saudi Arabia have offered Vinicius a salary of 200 million euros per season, when the salary of a star in Europe is currently around 15 to 20 million euros per season at the most.
Madrid would not accept anything below that 1 billion euro clause, an amount that would force the Madrid club to part with the Brazilian striker if he decides to head to the Saudi league. In this case, we will see if Saudi Arabia keep their finger on the pulse and go up to that figure.
These may be rumours or probes launched from Saudi Arabia to see if there is an option to acquire the striker's services, but the information is still flowing and we will see what happens.
The normal thing is that Vinicius remains at Real Madrid because the cycle of winning titles has been very good for the Madrid team in recent years and the sporting evolution of the Brazilian international has been excellent to the point of opting to win the Ballon d'Or. In addition, the Real Madrid squad is very competitive, with players such as Vinicius himself, Kylian Mbappé (recent star signing), Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Dani Carvajal, Thibaut Courtois, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni, etc..., and they are once again aiming to win everything.
In fact, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told a press conference that he believes there is no threat from the Saudi Arabian league for Vinicius, considering that "it's market speculation".
