Jose Mourinho reveals what he said to Vinicius Junior to convince him to snub Arsenal
metro.co.uk · 19 hours ago
Jose Mourinho and Vinicius Junior spoke before the forward snubbed Arsenal (Picture: Getty) Jose Mourinho has lifted the lid on the frank conversation he had with Vinicius Junior to help persuade the forward to extend his stay with Real Madrid this summer. Vinicius had entered into the final 12 months of his previous deal with Madrid, meaning he would have been able to depart the Bernabeu on a free transfer at the end of this coming season. Arsenal were alerted to the precarious situation and made contact with Vinicius Junior’s camp over the winter after a second round of contract talks between the Brazilian and Madrid had collapsed. The Gunners grew increasingly optimistic of pulling of a sensational coup as the months wore on and remained hopeful right up until a fortnight ago, with Mikel Arteta ‘absolutely smitten’ with the idea of adding a genuine world-class talent to his title-winning frontline. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. But Vinicius would go on to sign a six-year deal with Los Blancos, tying him to the Spanish giants until 2026, forcing the Premier League champions to search elsewhere for attacking reinforcements ahead of next month’s transfer deadline. Vinicius made his return for Madrid in the side’s pre-season clash with Deportivo La Coruna last week and will be expected to feature prominently on Saturday when Mourinho’s men open their La Liga campaign away to Espanyol. In a wide-ranging interview with El Chiringuito’s Josep Pedrerol, Mourinho opened up on the role he played in coaxing Vinicius away from the clutches of Arsenal. The Brazilian has put pen to paper on a six-year contract in Madrid (Picture: Getty) Arsenal had been in talks with Vinicius since January (Picture: Reuters) Asked if Vinicius’ renewal was solely down to him, Mourinho replied: ‘No… what? Because of me? Pressed on whether he spoke to Vinicius, the Special One responded: ‘Obviously I talked to him, but Vinicius has fallen in love with Real Madrid. ‘The only thing I told him was: “Vini, where do you want to go? You’ve only been in Brazil and you only know Real Madrid… You only understand Real Madrid when you leave. When you leave… that’s when you realise what Real Madrid is. Don’t leave. It’s not worth it.” {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Arteta says Community Shield statement win proves Arsenal are 'ready for it'","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/08\/17\/7779755569864816200\/480x270_MP4_7779755569864816200.mp4","description":"Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal's desire \"to go straight again\" after Manchester City were overwhelmed 3-0 by the Premier League champions in the Community Shield.","duration":"T8M14S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/08\/17\/07\/110678029-0-image-a-8_1786947795231.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-08-17T07:22:17+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); ‘I think what he has felt in terms of the group’s growth, the way we’ve been working and developing, has given him a very important feeling. ‘Vinicius is another machine – it’s a pleasure to watch him work. ‘We have a lot of quality.’ Mourinho returned for a second spell as Madrid’s manager earlier this summer (Picture: Getty) Mourinh
