Superstar soccer player Vinicíus Jr., who plays for both Brazil and Real Madrid, has been offered a five-year/one billion euros ($1.1 billion) contract from Saudi Arabia to play with Al Ahli.
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That is to say, while there has not been an official offer made as of now, the 24-year-old Ballon d'Or award contender was sought after by Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) officials, who had inquired about his interest in playing in the Saudi Pro League (SPL). According to reports, the two parties met with one another, as Vinícius' team said he would consider the lucrative deal, but a decision has not been made yet.
Some numbers have been tossed around as high as 350 million euros ($382.5m) for an annual salary, while this would also entail Vinícius being the country's ambassador for the 2034 World Cup, which is all a part of the Saudi project.
🚨 BREAKING: Saudi's offer to Vinícius:
• €1 BILLION salary, 13x bigger than his current one.
• Free agency in 2029.
• Opportunity to return to Europe before Vini turns 30 years old.
• Whatever job he wants in Saudi football after retirement.
• Ambassador for 2034 World… pic.twitter.com/QVLcCQxdAY— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) August 12, 2024
Vinícius is currently under contract with the Spanish club Real Madrid until 2027, after he signed an extension in 2022, as he currently is receiving a 25 million euros ($27.5m) per year salary.
To put into perspective, if he took the Saudi deal, then that would end up correlating to $4.2 million a week, $600k per day, $25k per hour, and $416 a minute.
In view of Vinícius' performance on the pitch, he scored 24 goals and contributed 11 assists in 39 games last season, which led to Real Madrid winning both LaLiga and Champions League trophies.
All in all, it is important to consider that he currently has a 1 billion euro buyout clause, which means that Real Madrid would get that amount if the Saudi team and Vinicius came to terms on a deal.
Vinícius' current teammate Kylian Mbappe also was presented with a similar deal last year, in which the Frenchman turned down a meeting with the Saudi club Al Hilal, after they offered the former Paris Saint-Germain's forward a billion dollar deal.
Previous Real Madrid stars have also made the jump to Saudi Arabia, as Cristiano Ronaldo ($200+ million/year; Al Nassr) and Karim Benzema ($100+ million/year; Al-Ittihad) are both currently under contract in the SPL.
All in all, despite Vinícius hearing out the Saudi Pro League's offer, he still is happy with his current situation. Back in February he spoke on wanting to play in Spain for the long-term future.
"I'm always happy to be a Real Madrid player, very happy," Vinícius said. "I hope the president lets me play here for a very long time because I love this club."
Related: Fans Have Been Sent To Prison After Racial Abuse Incident Against Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior
