It has been a difficult week for Vinicius Jr. Despite being lauded as the undisputed favourite for the Ballon d’Or title, the Brazilian finished behind Manchester City’s Rodri.
Missing out on the Ballon d’Or title has weighed heavily on Vinicius, who remained quite silent and did not attend the ceremony.
Although Vinicius has received immense support from his teammates and coach Carlo Ancelotti, his Ballon d’Or snub does raise question marks on whether or not the player would like to continue in Europe.
It must be remembered that Vinicius had received a lucrative offer to leave Real Madrid in the summer and move to the Saudi League.
The Saudi Arabian government is serious about expanding the league further by signing more top players from Europe and Vinicius, to that end, has emerged as their topmost priority.
Saudi Arabia bullish about signing Vinicius
Keeping the recent events in mind, a report from SPORT suggests that Saudi Arabia are now more hopeful than ever of signing Vinicius.
Saudi Arabia Football believes Vinicius’ Ballon d’Or snub could be a turning point and may potentially convince him to leave Europe, in favour of a move to the Middle East.
As such, Saudi Arabia’s lucrative offer for the Brazilian international, ranging up to €1 billion for a period of five years still stands.
They are not giving up on the Real Madrid star, who, apart from the recent setback, has also been heavily victimised by opposition fans in La Liga.
Real Madrid are powerless in this aspect, as the final decision will be made only by Vinicius. The Brazilian made it clear in the summer that his intention is to continue at Santiago Bernabeu.
However, after the recent set of events, it will be interesting to see whether or not the star forward considers a new chapter in his career.