Man City2 - 3Real Madrid

The 24-year-old has again been in impressive form for Los Blancos during the 2024-25 campaign, scoring 16 goals and registering 11 assists in 30 appearances in all competitions.

Vinicius only has a contract at Bernabeu until June 2027, though, and there is currently a host of speculation surrounding his future, with Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli believed to be determined to bring him to the Saudi Pro League.

An offer of €300m (£251m) could allegedly be submitted to Real Madrid, with Vinicius then being offered a staggering €200m (£167.6m) a season on a five-year deal.

Los Blancos head coach Carlo Ancelotti recently said that he would "understand" if Vinicius decided to make the move to Saudi Arabia, but the forward has revealed that he wants to pen a new deal at Bernabeu.

Saudi Arabia-linked Vinicius wants Real Madrid stay

"God willing, the negotiations will be resolved in the next few days and I will be able to stay here for much longer," he told TNT Sports. "I don't know anything (regarding a move to the Saudi Pro League), nobody has spoken to me."

It is believed that Vinicius has rejected Real Madrid's opening contract offer, strengthening suggestions that he might be open to what would be one of the most spectacular transfers of all time.

Since arriving at Bernabeu from Flamengo in July 2018, Vinicius has made 295 appearances for Real Madrid in all competitions, scoring 101 goals and registering 84 assists in the process.

Vinicius helped Real Madrid record a 3-2 win over Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League knockout round playoff on Tuesday night, with the forward coming up with the assist for Jude Bellingham to score his side's third in the final exchanges.

Ancelotti pleased with "good performance" against Man City

"We weren't going to decide the tie here. We've got a slight advantage, it was a good performance and we're happy with the result. We created a lot of chances and they caused us problems from an attacking perspective. We have to prepare well for the return leg, but this game will give us confidence and strength for what lies ahead," Ancelotti told reporters after the match.

"It was a complete performance by the team from an attacking point of view, and we showed that with the right levels of commitment, we can do anything. They all showed great showed great commitment today and the quality of this team is never in doubt - this is the way forward.

"I said it a long while ago, but this is the way forward. This is where the season really starts and despite all the difficulties, we put in a good display and got a great result. The back four had never played together, not even in training. They were absolutely fantastic.

"[Aurelien] Tchouameni has come in for a lot of criticism but he was incredible. [Raul] Asencio's maturity continues to surprise people and [Federico] Valverde and [Ferland] Mendy were fantastic. We've been able to bring something really positive out of an emergency situation.

"You have to be strong defensively here because if you're not they can score a bag of goals. I always tell the Spanish journalists that defending is about the attitude of the whole team. Today, we defended well as a unit. The team delivered a well-rehearsed defensive display. This was the first leg and it was very different to last year's game because we had more control and more of a threat going forward."

Real Madrid will be aiming to return to winning ways in La Liga when they travel to Osasuna on Saturday afternoon, before hosting Man City for the second leg of their Champions League knockout round playoff next week.

Written by

Matt Law