Vini is Madrid's first, last and best! Brazilian signs until 2027 and becomes club's highest earner

It's a great week for Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian international has signed a new contract with Real Madrid and extended the deal with sports equipment manufacturer Nike. On top of everything - he received the Socrates Award for his humanitarian work. Real Madrid and Vinicius have reached an agreement to extend the player's contract, keeping him with the club until 30 June 2027. It's been coming for some time and now it's official.

The 23-year-old Brazilian is in good spirits. The Socrates Award is just the tip of the iceberg that is on its way to being revealed in the coming days. In addition to the social recognition from France Football for the institute he has set up in Rio de Janeiro, one must add the support of Real Madrid and Nike to his achievements and football career.

The leaders of the Los Blancos and Frederico Pena, the agent of the Brazilian, reached a contract renewal agreement last year, which has now been made official. In recent months, there has been no change, but the Madrid club believes it is time to publicly reaffirm the confidence they have in Vinicius and how much he contributes to the team.

Vinicius is considered the most valuable asset of the club, which is why they have protected the forward in every sense of the word, both in sports and in any tense situations he may have experienced in recent months. Real Madrid stands by the former Flamengo player, as they have demonstrated in every moment of tension that may have arisen. The new contract extends until June 2027, making him the highest-paid player in the squad, with a release clause of $1,6 billion that keeps away anyone showing interest in signing him, a situation that neither the club nor the player contemplate.

The relationship between Vini and Nike has had its ups and downs, which are now completely overcome. Playing with black boots without displaying the Nike logo is a thing of the past, and any shadow of a rupture is gone. The two parties have sat down talked, and thanks to the improvement of the existing contract between them, the Brazilian becomes one of the stars in Nike's constellation, as recently reaffirmed by one of the company's top executives in Madrid.

The existing contract until 2030 has not been extended, but it has been improved in all aspects. Puma saw minimal opportunity and went for the Socrates Award, but the partnership with Nike has become solid. Separation was complicated from a legal perspective, but after hitting rock bottom, everything changed until the current moment. It has nothing to do with the doubts generated after not making it to the promotion for the Qatar World Cup, which were already minimized by Vini Jr.'s active participation in a Nike anti-racism campaign last spring. That's when he started to feel the closeness that he had missed before.

The Real Madrid player now has the contract of a star, a footballer valued worldwide, and this is in addition to his recognized commitment to social causes, as seen at the Ballon d'Or ceremony. His career continues to climb, as evidenced by his presence in Paris among the awardees. Additionally, he now faces the challenge of assuming more significant roles within the Brazilian national team due to Neymar's injury. The responsibilities will fall on him, and it's something he enjoys and accepts as a challenge.

As for his position and the playing scheme at Real Madrid, Vini is still in a period of adaptation to the changes in the formation, playing more liberated from defensive work and moving towards interior positions, away from the touchline, and often required to build connections without turning his back on individual plays. He has a good understanding with Bellingham and Rodrygo, primarily, but the injury was a significant setback in the process of adapting his movements. The statistics favor the Brazilian international; he is the player who contributes the most to goals, either directly or through assists, surpassing all others.

Vini joined Real Madrid in July 2018 at just 18 years old and made his debut with Real Madrid Castilla a couple of months later. Over his six seasons wearing the first-team jersey, he has played in 235 matches, scoring 63 goals and winning nine titles: a Champions League, two Club World Cups, a UEFA Super Cup, two La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey, and two Spanish Super Cups.

At just 23 years old, he has become one of the most influential players at Real Madrid in recent years. He scored the goal that secured the fourteenth European Cup in the 2022 final in Paris and won the Ballon d'Or of the 2022 Club World Cup in Morocco, which Real Madrid won, marking the club's eighth world title. Furthermore, he was named the Best Young Player of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League and has been included in the Champions League's Best XI twice (2021/22 and 2022/23) and La Liga's Best XI twice (2021/22 and 2022/23).