Vinicius Junior has been handed a stark warning: repeat Sergio Ramos's mistake and it could cost him his Real Madrid career. Talks over a new contract remain deadlocked, and Arsenal are circling with the promise of a huge investment that would make the Brazilian one of the best-paid players on the planet. Experts reckon his stalling could enrage club president Florentino Perez, a man with no patience for anyone who dares challenge him.
Journalist Aritz Gabilondo laid it out on "El Larguero", the programme aired by Spanish radio station "Cadena SER". Vinicius is "miscalculating", he claimed, by pursuing a negotiating tactic Real Madrid and their president have always loathed. Taking on Perez in these situations is "extremely complicated", he warned, pointing straight to Ramos, who walked away suddenly after renewal talks collapsed.
Real Madrid have put a new deal on the table. Even so, Vinicius still can't decide whether to stay at the club that backed him as a raw prospect or chase a fresh start this summer. Prominent British media report Arsenal are ready to splash out a hefty sum to build their first team around him.
Gabilondo was blunt. "If both parties want the renewal, the agreement is signed and that's the end of it. There is someone playing a different game. And frankly, looking at the history of this story, remember the Saudi Arabia issue, and now Arsenal suddenly appear," he said, suggesting one side is being less than honest at the table.
He went on: "It's a strategy that Real Madrid, and specifically its president, have always hated. For example, I remember the case of Sergio Ramos and many others. Challenging Florentino Perez in such a case is extremely complicated." The message was clear. What happened to Ramos could happen again.
Ramos wanted a two-year extension. Real Madrid offered one. By the time the Spanish centre-back reconsidered and accepted the club's terms, the door had already shut. Perez pulled the offer, and the defensive legend was gone in 2021.
Money, Gabilondo insisted, has nothing to do with it, nor does any comparison with Kylian Mbappe's salary. "It's not about money, or what he deserves compared to Mbappe, or anything of that sort. The matter is about whether he wants to play for Real Madrid or not. And that is not the case, so it seems to me that the decision is in Vinicius's hands more than Real Madrid's."