Vinicius Junior has revealed that he wants to stay at Real Madrid "forever", with the Brazil international having no desire to seek a move away from Bernabeu amid interest from Saudi Arabia.
The 24-year-old is the favourite to win the 2024 Ballon d'Or due to his form for Real Madrid last season, while he has also been impressive in 2024-25, scoring eight goals and registering seven assists in 14 appearances.
Vinicius struck a hat trick against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with Carlo Ancelotti's side coming from two goals behind to record a 5-2 win.
The Brazilian has a contract with Real Madrid until June 2027, but there remains speculation surrounding his future, with mega-rich clubs from the Saudi Pro League, namely Al-Hilal, said to be desperate for his signature.
Al-Hilal would allegedly be willing to spend in the region of £167.5m to sign Vinicius next year, while he could also be offered the chance to become the highest-paid footballer in the world.
© Imago
Vinicius wants to stay with Real Madrid "forever"
However, Vinicius, speaking after his treble against Dortmund, said that he is planning to spend his entire professional career with the reigning Spanish and European champions.
"The main thing is that we believed in ourselves. This is our house, full of our fans, and in those circumstances absolutely anything can happen," Vinicius told Movistar.
"Things were very quiet when we got to the dressing room 2-0 down at half-time. But we listened to the boss and agreed one simple thing: if we can score first then we'll fight back and win once again.
"I want to thank the fans for sticking with us because we know we have to improve - our aim is to play like we did in the second half right from the start every week.
"The boss always finds the right way to make matches simpler for us. We changed formation, but also the dynamics in the second half. This is our competition and make no mistake we want to win it again. Ancelotti always tells me I've got more to give - I'm 24 and I want to stay with Madrid forever. I want to give everything back to a club which has given me so much."
© Imago
Ancelotti pays tribute to "extraordinary" Vinicius
Real Madrid head coach Ancelotti paid tribute to Vinicius' "extraordinary character" following the win over Dortmund, with the Italian also discussing how his side were able to recover from a poor first period.
"That was the best second half of the season. We put more pressure on Dortmund than we had been doing. Vinicius has an extraordinary character. I think we were very timid in the first half, we started with far too little intensity," Ancelotti told reporters.
"We were far, far too timid. We can play with more energy and we can risk more than we did in the first half. But we were a low block and not pressing well enough. I knew we were a team with much more energy than that.
"At half-time I told them to correct little details. To win duels, to make passes, not fail in them, and that's where the dynamics of a game can change. We were quicker, more intense and more concentrated. The system we played was not the most important thing. It's the attitude, it's the players and their contributions which are most important."
Real Madrid's attention will now switch back to La Liga, with Barcelona their opponents at Bernabeu on Saturday night.
Matt Law
