‘Off the Table’—One Potential Vinicius Junior Transfer Spot Ruled Out

‘Off the Table’—One Potential Vinicius Junior Transfer Spot Ruled Out

Should Vinicius Junior inch closer to a Real Madrid exit, the Brazilian will have clubs all over Europe knocking on his door—but Chelsea will reportedly not be joining in on the potential transfer race.

Vinicius Jr, whose current deal with Los Blancos expires at the end of next season, has made little progress in securing a contract extension. Talks began in January 2025 but have long since reached an impasse over salary disagreements.

It goes without saying that clubs are keeping a close eye on the winger’s situation and could be prompted into action if Vinicius Jr decides to leave the Spanish capital for a fresh start elsewhere. The Premier League remains an attractive destination, but not all of the ‘Big Six’ are interested.

MARCA report a move to Chelsea is “completely off the table” after Vinicius Jr’s public falling out with Xabi Alonso, who is the Blues’ new manager following the departure of Liam Rosenior. The west London outfit was once interested in the Brazil international, but that interest no longer exists now that Alonso is in charge.

The Moment Everything Changed for Vinicius Jr and Alonso

There were murmurings of potential tension between Vinicius Jr and Alonso during the early months of the manager’s tenure at the Bernabéu. The Spaniard made Vinicius Jr earn his place on the left wing, his home since he made the move to the Spanish capital, and benched him for matches he would normally start.

The simmering feud between the two reached a boiling point in October during Real Madrid’s 2–1 victory over Barcelona. Alonso took Vinicius Jr out of the game in the 72nd minute, prompting the forward to lose his cool and storm down the tunnel while his teammates still battled on the pitch.

Vinicius Jr later publicly apologized to the club, the fans and his teammates, but left out his manager. Reports then emerged that the No. 7 would not sign a new contract while Alonso was in charge.

When the former Bayer Leverkusen boss eventually lost his job in January, Vinicius Jr was one of the only players not to send him well wishes on social media. There was clearly no love lost between the two, and it comes as no surprise they would not want to work together again in the future, even if the opportunity arose.

WIN FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ FINAL TICKETS & OTHER PRIZES

Where Vinicius Jr Stands With Real Madrid

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez previously vocalized his desire to lock down Vinicius Jr and keep the Brazilian in a white shirt for years to come. “There’s time,” he said when asked about renewing his superstar back in May.

“I’d love for him to stay forever. He’s won us the last two Champions Leagues, and he identifies really well with the club. You know who doesn’t like him? Those who aren’t Real Madrid fans.”

Vinicius Jr has also expressed how much he wants to stay at the Bernabéu, and reports claim he already ruled out any potential transfer this summer. Yet the 25-year-old has seemingly not budged on his salary demands, the one thing keeping him from pledging more than next season to Real Madrid.

He wants to rake in a historic $34.2 million (€30 million) per season, but the club is reluctant to adhere to such demands, which would make Vinicius Jr the highest-paid player on the team. For a deal to be struck, one of the parties will have to compromise—or else a race is coming to snatch the 2024 Ballon d’Or runner-up one he becomes a free agent next summer.

READ THE LATEST REAL MADRID NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC

Amanda Langell is a Sports Illustrated FC freelance writer and editor. Born and raised in New York City, her first loves were the Yankees, the Rangers and Broadway before Real Madrid took over her life. Had it not been for her brother’s obsession with Cristiano Ronaldo, she would have never lived through so many magical Champions League nights 3,600 miles away from the Bernabéu. When she’s not consumed by Spanish and European soccer, she’s traveling, reading or losing her voice at a concert.

NPR's Nina Totenberg Apologizes for False Report about Alito Retiring

NPR Correspondent Nina Totenberg Apologizes for False Report about Justice Alito Retiring

Nina Totenberg, American Legal Affairs correspondent for NPR, apologized on Tuesday after she falsely reported that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is retiring.

Totenberg issued her apology on NPR’s All Things Considered podcast, chalking her false report down to a “rookie mistake.”

“It’s entirely on me. It’s not anybody else’s fault,” she said.

Totenberg then read the text apology that she personally sent to Justice Alito:

Dear Justice Alito, there are no words to adequately apologize for today’s error in reporting your retirement,” she said. “It was entirely my fault. I rushed out of the courtroom after the opinion announcements, and when I realized that the usual rush of folks after a few minutes had not happened, I asked somebody was going on inside, to which the answer was, ‘retirement announcements.’

“I didn’t hear the ‘s’ on ‘announcements,’ and I assumed something no reporter should ever do, that you were retiring. It was the worst professional mistake of my more than 50 years in journalism. I could go on, but I don’t know what else to say, except that I am so, so sorry,” she added.

NPR had a news report about Alito’s retirement already written by the time Totenberg informed the newsroom, which many publications keep on hand for immediate publication in case of sudden retirement or possible death.

“Totenberg spoke with both her intern, who was at the court with her, and NPR Executive Editor Krishnadev Calamur and told them what she heard,” per NPR. “Calamur surfaced the story that NPR had previously prepared for the day Alito did announce his retirement and published it. The information was also broadcast on NPR’s airwaves. NPR was offering special live coverage of the court’s decision on the birthright citizenship case.”

“The story was published on NPR’s website at 10:51 a.m. ET and it was live for about five minutes. It was up for longer periods on some member station websites. It was taken down and replaced with an editor’s note by 10:57 a.m. The error was corrected on the broadcast at 11:07 a.m. ET,” it added.