Vinicius Junior would be making the same mistake that Mesut Ozil did back in 2013 were he to leave Real Madrid to complete a transfer to Arsenal this summer.
That’s according to former Real Madrid star Pedja Mijatovic, who has warned Vinicius he would regret the proposed move and there is ‘no going back’ should he edge towards the exit door at the Bernabeu.
Vinicius, 26, is in the final 12 months of his current contract in the Spanish capital, with talks over a possible renewal having broken down in the wake of last year’s Club World Cup.
Premier League champions Arsenal have been alerted to the situation this summer and Mikel Arteta is said to be ‘absolutely smitten’ with the idea of coaxing the forward to north London.
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A proposed offer was understood to have been approved ‘at all levels’ at the Emirates, with the Gunners reportedly prepared to make Vinicius the highest-paid player in Premier League history.
However, reports emanating out of Madrid indicate that Vinicius has ‘prioritised’ resolving his future in the Spanish capital, while Jose Mourinho has made it clear he would be vehemently opposed to the prospect of losing the Brazilian.
Vinicius will be aware that a move to Arsenal would see him become the centre of the club’s long-term project, the focal point of Arteta’s attack and undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in the English game.
But having departed the bright lights of Madrid for Fiorentina back in 1999, Mijatovic believes Vinicius would live to regret joining Arsenal for a little more power and an extra few million in his wage packet.
‘It’s better to be second choice at Real Madrid, even if you’re behind Kylian Mbappe, than first at any other team in the world,’ Mijatovic – who scored Madrid’s winning goal in the 1998 Champions League final – told Cadena SER’s El Larguero programme.
‘This is exactly what can happen to Vinicius or anyone else who has left: you leave upset, angry because you’re not valued, etcetera… all these stories I’ve heard 1,500 times.
‘And then, you run into this same player 20 days or a month later in London, Paris, or wherever, and the first thing he says is, “My God, how wrong I was”, and all for the sake of €2-3million. That’s a lot of money, but with €20m you live exactly the same.’
Martin Odegaard was the last player to leave Real Madrid to complete a move Arsenal, of course going on to captain the Gunners to Premier League glory last season.
Prior to that, Ozil decided to make the switch after a falling out at Madrid, with Arsenal spending a club-record £42.5m fee to lure the talismanic midfielder to north London.
Ozil would win just three FA Cups and a Community Shield during his time in England, though, and Mijatovic believes the German may regret leaving Madrid – just as he does – all these years later.
‘When you want to go back, there is no going back, obviously,’ Mijatovic added.
‘I’ve experienced this myself and it happened to Mesut Ozil too.’
Discussing Arsenal’s rumoured interest in Vinicius on the latest Football Ramble podcast, Jamie Carragher said he would dearly ‘love’ to see a player of such pedigree in the Premier League.
However, the former Liverpool and England defender suspects Vinicius may simply be using Arsenal for a new contract and the Gunners’ chances of landing the attacker are ultimately slim.
‘I’d love to see it. I think we lack top players in the Premier League right now, I do,’ the ex-England international continued.
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‘What really hit home was at the World Cup, at the semi-final stage, so it was France, Spain, England and Argentina, the four best teams in the world, but I don’t think there was an attacker who played in the Premier League.
‘That’s besides, I think, Morgan Rogers who only got in that game [because of fitness concerns in the squad]. When England are playing their best team, Rogers is probably not in it.
‘So you’re looking at it and thinking: Anthony Gordon has left, Jude Bellingham is in Spain, Harry Kane is in Germany. Out of all the attacking players no one is in the Premier League.
‘For us to get somebody I think would be amazing. I just can’t see it happening.
‘He’s surely doing it to get a new contract at Real Madrid.’
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