Air for Vinicius and Rodrygo after Mbappé's disappointment

In 2017, when Real Madrid were trying to persuade Vinicius Jr., who was only 16, to join them, a mention of Mbappé contributed to the denouement.

José Ángel Sánchez, executive general director of the white club, told his representative, Fred Pena, that if the footballer committed to them, they would desist from pursuing the hiring of the Frenchman, an 18-year-old boy who was shooting himself in the Monaco.

The story was told by Pena to

a couple of years later, when the player had already completed his first season in Spain, between Castilla and Madrid.

"We realized that they really loved him because they compared him, without having played a game as a professional, with a footballer who was breaking it at the highest level in Europe," said the agent, who remembered that he had laughed then, not sure if Sánchez was serious.

With Vinicius closed, Madrid continued negotiating with the Frenchman, who a few months later, in August, opted for Paris Saint-Germain for the first time.

The second was on Saturday, and it also touched on the future of Vinicius, and on this occasion also that of Rodrygo Goes, the next Brazilian talent recruited early by Florentino Pérez with the intention of spending 45 million on a player to play instead of 200 in one already curdled, like the French.

While this second great assault with PSG for Mbappé was being decided, Madrid was negotiating the renewals of the two Brazilians.

With the general feeling that the Frenchman would land in the same area of ​​the field that Vinicius has exploited this season, Pena began talks with the club for an extension and improvement.

He knew that if the big signing materialized, that would mean changes in the system in which his footballer had finally fit in, but in his team they also thought that Mbappé would give him more space: he would attract defenses that were now concentrated around Vinicius.

In addition, the Brazilian has been weaving a good relationship with the Frenchman, based on messages on Instagram, meetings at galas and hugs before matches.

The extension of Vinicius' contract is on the right track, according to sources close to the operation.

The club presented him with an offer that more or less triples his salary, and that makes him jump from the group of the least paid to the group of the best rewarded.

The player's environment has valued this first approach very positively, which they consider that he recognizes the value of what he contributes.

They believe that the agreement will be simple, since both parties are interested, and among the few remaining obstacles appears the duration of the new contract: the club proposes that it be extended until 2028, four more years than the current one, while Pena considers it more reasonable to sign until 2027.

Around the same time that Madrid opened talks to prolong Vinicius' bond, they did the same with Rodrygo, according to club sources.

Mbappé's sit-in had not yet been known, which, according to sources familiar with the club's sporting vision, clears his outlook even more than that of Vinicius.

The front imagined when they were still convinced of being able to close the great signing, was made up of the Frenchman, Benzema and Vinicius, which relegated Rodrygo somewhat, after his formidable takeoff in recent months, in which he has comfortably overtaken Asensio and has entered the history of unforgettable nights at the Bernabéu.

What it means to reach a #UCLfinal 🥰

🇧🇷 @vinijr x @RodrygoGoes 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/QIAkZPfL1i

– UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 17, 2022

After the major disappointment of not being able to hire the footballer around whom they planned to build the next great era, at Real Madrid they have again underlined the virtues of two footballers who signed so as not to have to buy a mature Neymar, or a Mbappé one day in full boil.

Carlo Ancelotti summed up the plan a few days ago talking about Rodrygo.

“You just have to wait a bit.

I don't know how much, but I don't care.

I only care that we are lucky to have a player like him,” he said.

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