Flamengo president rules out Vinicius return
Flamengo president Luiz Eduardo Baptista said his club does not have the financial means to lure Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior back from Real Madrid.
Vinicius made the move to Los Blancos in 2018 for a reported €46m transfer fee, and the Brazilian has gone on to become one of the club's standout players in recent years.
The 25 year-old has since made 355 appearances in all competitions for the LaLiga giants, winning 14 major honours. Indeed, since joining Madrid, only Karim Benzema (215) and Antoine Griezmann (201) have more goal contributions than Vinicius's 198 in all competitions among LaLiga players.
However, the Brazilian endured a difficult start to the 2025-2026 campaign and fell out of favour under Xabi Alonso, though he has since found his way back into the starting line-up.
Vinicius, whose contract runs out in 2027, has expressed his desire to remain at Madrid, though reports have suggested talks between the two parties have stalled.
But Flamengo, which signed Lucas Paqueta from West Ham for a reported €42m (£36.5m) fee in January, has been ruled out of making a move for Vinicius by president Baptista.
"Vini is not a possibility for Flamengo," he said. "I'm sure that if there were a transfer involving Vinicius Junior, it would be a transfer with a salary, at current values, far higher than what we considered for Paqueta.
"And that possibility doesn't exist. He's still not within Flamengo's reach. Not yet. Flamengo can't yet."
Vinicius played 37 times for Flamengo in Serie A, netting seven goals as well as providing four assists for his team-mates.
When asked if Vinicius's stalled contract talks had given Flamengo a glimmer of hope that a potential return was on the cards, Baptista said: "Vinicius will always be welcome.
"When he comes to Brazil, we love Vini. But Vinicius wants to stay in Europe. Paqueta and Vinícius are at different points in their lives.
"Paqueta has someone waiting for him at home every day [in Brazil], he has a family. Vinicius has no one waiting for him at home [with his family in Madrid]."
