Arsenal ready to offer Vinicius biggest contract in club’s history
Emirates hierarchy prepared to top £400k-a-week salary Champions believe Brazilian will take them to next level
Arsenal are prepared to offer Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior the biggest contract in the club’s history as they plot a signing to outline their soaring ambition.
Vinicius currently commands a weekly salary of £400,000 at Real Madrid, but Arsenal would look to improve that to maximise their chances of pulling off an audacious coup. Telegraph Sport understands finance will not be a barrier to their aims. The Premier League champions have had a low-key summer so far, with only winger Christos Tzolis and goalkeeper Illan Meslier added to their squad, but the signing of Vinicius would be gamechanging for manager Mikel Arteta.
Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid’s new head coach, does not want to lose any of the biggest names from his squad. But Arsenal are ready to explore every avenue to land Vinicius, who is in the final 12 months of his contract.
Arteta wants to go one step better in the Champions League after losing last season’s final to Paris Stgermain.
When he became manager in 2019, he was tasked with clearing the decks of high earners such as Mesut Özil and Pierreemerick Aubameyang, both of whom earned more than £350,000 per week. They made a statement this year when Bukayo Saka was rewarded with a contract worth about £365,000 per week, which will rise each year, and Arteta wants to keep together a squad who ended a 22-year wait to win the title.
The lure of Vinicius, a two-time Champions League winner with Real, is obvious. Though Arsenal have good players in wide areas, Saka being the stand-out, there is room for improvement and Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta have been assessing targets.
Bradley Barcola, the Paris St-germain winger, has been discussed at length. Liverpool are also keen on Barcola, but it would cost £145m to sign him and neither they nor Arsenal have made a serious move.
Real are also set to beat PSG and Liverpool to the signing of Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig. The 19-year-old impressed at the recent World Cup and the two clubs are expected to strike a deal worth over £100m that will see him join Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries as Real’s summer signings.
Mourinho would be firmly against sanctioning any sale of Vinicius. He has returned to Real for a second spell determined to deliver their 16th European Cup and wants the 26-year-old – with whom he had a high-profile falling-out while Benfica coach – at the heart of his team.
There has been no club-to-club contact between Arsenal and Real.