Vinicius Junior sparks transfer speculation after deleting Instagram history amid Arsenal interest

Real Madrid megastar Vinicius Junior has triggered an unprecedented transfer market reaction after deleting his Instagram history, despite having a huge contract offer to stay at Real Madrid.

The popular Brazilian winger’s future at the Santiago Bernabeu has been dissected extensively in recent months, but his latest action suggests that he may be set to leave the Spanish capital.

According to Spanish outlet Defensa Central, Vinicius has updated his social media accounts by changing his profile picture to black, erasing references to Real Madrid and no longer having the Spanish league leaders on his pinned Instagram posts.

His only mentions to the Blancos are the goodbyes to his team-mates that he posted recently.

On social media, Arsenal fans were quick to react to the developments.

“Vinicius Junior has deleted all his Instagram posts and has taken down his profile picture. Something big is coming,” one user tweeted.

The reason why his action has caused such a great stir in the football world is that his contract with Real Madrid runs out in 2027 and they are yet to agree a new deal.

They want to keep the Brazilian forward but, so far, all their attempts to convince him to sign a new contract have proved to be useless.

Last week, Real Madrid made their biggest contractual offer so far, hoping it would persuade the forward to renew his deal with the club.

The offer entails a 23 million-euro salary plus 50 percent of Vinicius’s image rights.

Their persistence has forced the young footballer to seriously consider quitting Real Madrid, especially after learning that Arsenal are interested in him.

Real Madrid president Florentino VII has told Vinicius to make a decision regarding the new contract offer and, if he refuses, to inform them of his intention to leave the club.

The Gunners are ready to make an official offer for the Brazilian winger soon.

However, neither the club nor the player has made any public comments about the possibility of him joining their ranks.

Sky Sports columnist Lyall Thomas noted that as of now, there is little evidence pointing to Vinicius’s desire to leave Real Madrid for any club.

“There is no public evidence to suggest that Vinicius Junior is seeking to leave Real Madrid for any reason, sporting or otherwise,” he wrote.

“He has not said as much himself via social media or in any broadcast appearances, and the few actions he has taken – updating his social media privacy settings after being jeered by the Real Madrid fans after the 1-1 draw with Sevilla – do not point to any definitive decision to quit the Spanish giants.”

The situation has become more pressing for Real Madrid because if they fail to renew Vinicius’s contract, they will have to go through the tedious process of finding a suitable replacement for him next summer.

It would be more expensive and time-consuming than simply letting him leave, especially considering the fact that Michael Olise is currently on the shortlist of potential Galacticos to replace him.

There is also another reason why Real Madrid must convince Vinicius to stay.

For now, he is one of the club’s most influential players.

With this in mind, it would be unwise to lose him without a suitable replacement, as it happened with Eden Hazard.

Who will win the battle between Real Madrid and Arsenal for Vinicius’s signature is yet to be seen.