Vinicius Junior wants to extend his Real Madrid contract and continue to live the dream despite continuous links to the Saudi Pro League.
Champions League holders Real Madrid host city rivals Atletico Madrid in the first leg of an eagerly-anticipated last-16 tie on Tuesday.
Real Madrid will be eager to bounce back from Saturday’s LaLiga loss at Real Betis and plenty of focus will be on Vinicius, who has only one goal in his last nine appearances.
👉 @ViniJr 👈📺 Press conference ➡️ RM Play
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 3, 2025
Asked about his future, Vinicius told a press conference: “I’m very relaxed about it, I’ve got a contract until 2027, I hope we can renew that shortly.
“I’m happy here and it’s a dream come true to be playing alongside the best players, under the best manager, the best president and for the best fans. I couldn’t be anywhere better than where I am right now.
“I’m here to continue making history. I want to repay all this club and the president have given me. I hope I can keep scoring goals and playing more games in this jersey.
“Now I’ve got the taste for winning things and started writing my own history here, I want more. I want to go down in this club’s history, which isn’t easy with the number of legendary players in the past. I want to be one of them.
“It’s going to be a great game, we love a good derby. We look forward to these big games all season, especially in the Champions League.”
A remarkable 2023-24 campaign from Vinicius helped Real Madrid clinch LaLiga and Champions League success, with the Brazil attacker able to score 24 times.
It made Vinicius a big contender for the Ballon d’Or, but he was overlooked for Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri.
Vinicius and the whole Real Madrid squad decided to skip the Ballon d’Or ceremony, which prompted criticism, but the much-maligned forward explained it was a club decision and has quickly shifted focus on further history at the Bernabeu this season.
“I do as I’m told by the club. They asked me to stay in Madrid and I did so, no problem. Now we’re focused on the next one,” Vinicius said of the Ballon d’Or ceremony snub.
“People vote for what they believe. I have my thoughts on it, as do my team-mates, and people give me such great support to keep going.
“I’ve never dreamed about winning it, but of course when you’re that close, you really want to get it.
“I’ll have other opportunities to win awards and titles with this club, which is the most important thing. I’ve won two European Cups and I’m here to win many more.”
The winner of Real Madrid’s tie with Atletico will face PSV Eindhoven or Arsenal.
