Victory for Vinicius as he moves from fourth least paid to fourth best paid in Real Madrid

After 18 months of negotiations, Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior have agreed to a new contract till 2027 but the beauty of the new contract is that it has moved the club gem from one of the least-paid players in the star-studded team to one of the best paid.

This is how Vinicius' wage bump compares to his Real Madrid teammates.

Since Carlo Ancelotti's return to Real Madrid in the summer of 2021, only Karim Benzema (74) has scored more goals for the capital giants than Vinicius (45). Yet, the Brazilian - who registered an unrivalled 37 assists in this timeframe - was one of the worst-paid players in the entire squad, despite incremental wage increases, until his new bump.

Negotiations for Vinicius' new deal began as early as the start of 2022 - his initial contract signed upon his arrival from Flamengo pocketed a basic annual salary of £2.8m, the equivalent of £54,000-per-week after tax.

Only three players on Madrid's roster - the scarcely used Spaniards Dani Ceballos and Jesus Vallejo along with backup goalkeeper Andriy Lunin - would have earned less last season if those numbers hadn't increased with percentage uplifts year on year.

The two parties have come to the agreement of £8.7m-per-year according to The Athletic. This figure does not include any bonuses and is an estimation after tax, which is 47% for the highest income bracket in Spain. Before paying his dues, Vinicius is expected to make around £36 360,000 per week

Vinicius' new deal runs until 2027 and boasts a gargantuan release clause of €1bn.

 

Vinicius Junior's reported salary compared to his Real Madrid teammates

Toni Kroos £408,000

David Alaba £377,000

Luka Modric £366,000

Vinicius Junior£360,000

Jude Bellingham £349,000

Thibaut Courtois £251,000

Antonio Rudiger £244,000

Aurelien Tchouameni £209,000

Dani Carvajal £175,000

Ferland Mendy £175,000

Dani Ceballos £175,000

Lucas Vazquez £157,000

Kepa Arrizabalaga £151,000

Nacho Fernandez £143,000

Eduardo Camavinga £140,000

Rodrygo £140,000

Federico Valverde £136,000

Eder Militao £122,000

Brahim Diaz £122,000

Fran Garcia £87,000

Arda Guler £87,000

Andriy Lunin £47,000

Joselu £42,000

Vinicius' new deal was initially billed as bigger than any other Real Madrid player. However, following the confirmation of his contract, Vinicius still ranks behind some of Madrid's wizened veterans.