Former Barcelona president keen for Vinicius Junior to leave Real Madrid | OneFootball

In recent months, there has been a very large amount of speculation surrounding Vinicius Junior and his future as a Real Madrid player. Saudi Arabia are desperate to secure the services of the 24-year-old superstar, who has not fully committed to staying at the Santiago Bernabeu, although he has been in talks to extend his contract beyond the expiration of his current deal in 2027.

Carlo Ancelotti told the media last week that he is “tired” of the constant media attention on Vinicius and Saudi Arabia, although these feelings will not be shared on the other side of the El Clasico divide. Barcelona would dearly love for Real Madrid to lose arguably their best player, and those feelings were made clear by Joan Gaspart.

Gaspart, who was president of Barcelona between the years of 2000 and 2003, told Saudi Arabian media outlet Al-Eqtisadiah (via Diario AS) of his desire to see Vinicius make the move to the Middle East this summer.

“As a Barcelona supporter, I hope Vinicius accepts the Saudi offer. I hope it will be good enough to convince him. I hope he accepts it because he is one of the great players and his departure will be the best for Barcelona. He’s a very fast player, with impressive dribbling, with a terrible character, but he is always very motivated by his team.”

Joan Gaspart had a difficult three-year spell as president of Barcelona

Regardless of Gaspart’s comments and Barcelona’s stance on the matter, Real Madrid appear confident of retaining Vinicius’ services for many years to come. They have no intention of negotiating with Saudi Arabia unless the player himself pushes hard for the move, which does not look like happening at this stage.

Real Madrid’s hope is that Vinicius will agree a new contract with the club at the end of the season – if this were to happen, it would end all speculation surrounding his future, and also his commitment to Los Blancos.