A signing-on bonus, not a salary figure, is what stands between Vinícius Júnior and a new Real Madrid contract. The two sides are not thought to be far apart on pay, with Madrid's latest proposal, reported at around £18.5m (€22m) a year and roughly £4m above his current terms of £14.9m, said to be broadly acceptable to the player.
Where talks have stuck is on the signing-on fee his camp are seeking for extending his stay, a request Madrid have so far declined to meet, and it is that gap, rather than the headline salary, that has kept negotiations stalled for months.
The stakes have been raised by Arsenal's arrival on the scene. The Premier League champions made initial enquiries last week, with manager Mikel Arteta insisting his side would be "very ambitious" in the market this summer, prompting Madrid to reopen talks that had gone quiet since last season.
Spanish media have described Arsenal's pursuit as "Operation Vinicius," with Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta holding direct talks aimed at winning the player over should Madrid's offer fall short. Since joining from Flamengo as a teenager in 2018, Vinícius, now 26, has scored in two Champions League finals and become one of the most important players in Real Madrid's recent history, which is precisely what makes the financial gap so consequential for both sides.
It remains unclear how long any new deal would run, a detail that matters given his current contract, signed in 2022, expires in under a year, in June 2027.
Vinícius returned to Real Madrid's training set-up on Monday following his post-World Cup break. Should the two sides fail to agree fresh terms, Madrid risk losing one of their most valuable assets for nothing, with the player free to sign a pre-contract with another club as early as January, a scenario the club would much rather avoid given the fee they could still command for him this summer.