Real Madrid have moved beyond the usual negotiation channels in their attempt to secure a new deal for Vinícius Júnior. The winger is officially in the final year of his contract, and the club are now leaning on old faces to help move talks along, with Ronaldo Nazário brought in after Roberto Carlos and Santiago Solari.

Perez turns to club legends

Florentino Perez has already been in contact with Roberto Carlos and Santiago Solari to convince Vinicius, and now Ronaldo is the latest intermediary being used by Real Madrid. Madrid Universal reported that a disagreement on wages has been the main reason the renewal has not been settled, so the club have started using figures with enough history at the Bernabéu to carry some weight.

There is a split in how far Ronaldo's role should be read. Madrid Universal's reporting presents him as the latest trump card in Perez's push, while the broader description of the move is more cautious, with the focus on him helping as a mediator rather than sitting at the table as a negotiator.

The wage gap and the restart after the World Cup

The obstacle is not a lack of desire to keep Vinícius Júnior, but the gap over pay. The reporting says wages have been the primary factor preventing an agreement between the player and the board, and the club do not want to let him leave on a free transfer next summer when his contract ends.

The timing is also clear. Real Madrid and Vinícius Júnior are set to restart negotiations after the FIFA World Cup, which pushes the decisive phase of the talks into the summer. Vinicius has also been one of Brazil's standout performers at the tournament, with an 8.13 rating across 4 appearances and 363 minutes. Kylian Mbappe's 8.46 rating across 4 appearances and 362 minutes shows why Madrid's wage benchmark is so sensitive in this sort of deal, and Jude Bellingham's 7.65 rating across 4 appearances and 317 minutes sits in the same high-value conversation.

Perez is treating this like a problem that still has time to be solved, but not much margin for error. If the wage gap stays where it is, Madrid's next negotiation after the World Cup becomes the one that matters most.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →