Real Madrid are prepared to set a club-record asking price for Vinícius Jr as they try to protect one of their most valuable assets from Premier League champions Arsenal.

The winger remains in contract limbo, with no club-to-club negotiations yet reported. Even so, it has been suggested that Arsenal have already made contact with Vinícius’s representatives as an initial move. Madrid, meanwhile, are understood to be facing a simple choice: renew or sell.

Should they decide to move him on, SPORT report that the Spanish club will not consider any offer below $182 million (€160 million). That figure would eclipse the current record sale, the €117 million move of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus in 2018.

Vinícius has consistently said he wants to remain at the Bernabéu, while president Florentino Pérez has stated that he wants the forward at the club for “the rest of his life”. Yet agreement has still proved difficult.

AS reports that Madrid expect contract talks to restart next week, once the player returns from his post-World Cup vacation. Before that meeting, Vinícius is said to want a conversation with new manager José Mourinho to understand the new project and where he fits into it.

Madrid have gone two seasons without a trophy, and Mourinho’s arrival has been presented as part of a wider shift after frustration on and off the pitch. AS also states that renewal talks were already “well advanced” before stalling after last summer’s Club World Cup, with the gap between the two sides now described as “minimal”.

The same report says Vinícius is seeking around €20 million ($23 million) net per season, down from earlier claims of a €30 million ($34 million) demand. His current deal, last renewed in 2022, is worth around €15 million ($17 million) net annually plus bonuses, including one tied to winning The Best FIFA Men’s Player award, which he did in 2024.

Madrid’s €100 million pursuit of RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande is said to be separate. If Arsenal were to pursue Vinícius seriously, they would need to make him their highest-paid player by a clear margin, on top of paying a major transfer fee.

Tottenham’s summer recruitment has passed the $300 million mark as the club moves to complete a second major signing in quick succession. A day after it emerged that Mateus Fernandes would become the club’s most expensive arrival, Sandro Tonali is reported to be joining for a larger fee, with outlets citing a £100 million ($132.8 million) agreement reached on Wednesday.

There had been slightly strange Arsenal rumors in January, and Manchester United and Manchester City were linked more recently. Those links have given way to Spurs as the destination for Tonali, amid multiple reports of common ground between the clubs on a £100 million deal.

Tottenham earlier guaranteed the full £85 million ($112.8 million) fee payable to West Ham for Fernandes, a commitment Manchester United were not prepared to make. Sky Sports and The Athletic note that Newcastle are assured of £92.5 million ($122.8 million) for Tonali, with the remaining £7.5 million ($9.9 million) structured as achievable add-ons.

The spending spree follows two consecutive seasons in which Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League and a campaign in which the club were in genuine danger of relegation until the final day. That represents an abrupt decline for a team that within the last decade has challenged for the Premier League title and reached a Champions League final.

Club officials appear intent on providing manager Roberto De Zerbi with a reinforced squad intended to halt the slide and accelerate a return to European competition. The scale and speed of the outlays underline a clear objective: rebuild quickly and re-establish the club among contenders for UEFA places. Whether the new additions deliver the desired climb up the table will be the defining story of the early weeks of the 2026/27 season.

The U.S. men’s national team is not the richest side at the 2026 World Cup, but several members of the squad nonetheless commanded substantial income in 2025–26. Sportico’s analysis of club pay, international bonuses and commercial revenue shows clear differences among the top earners.

Christian Pulisic stands out. While he earns just over $6 million per year with his Italian club, AC Milan, his total on-field earnings rise to $7.5 million, according to reported estimates. It is the commercial avenues off the field where he makes most of his money, bringing in $20 million over the last year.

Weston McKennie emerged as one of the highest earners in the squad during 2025–26. Sportico estimates he earned $7 million on the field and $8 million off it, for a total of $15 million before the World Cup.

Tim Weah’s reported on-field pay was $6 million for his season with Marseille, supplemented by off-field partnerships including New Balance. The 26-year-old has used that income to join an ownership group for USL side Brooklyn FC.

Midfielder Tyler Adams, a Premier League regular with Bournemouth in 2025–26, earned an estimated $5.5 million on the pitch and $1.5 million off it. He also holds an ownership stake in USL side Westchester SC. A 26-year-old Crystal Palace center back made $5 million with his club and added about $2.5 million through commercial deals; he has invested in Birmingham Legion FC.

Players stand to add to their earnings with a deep run at the World Cup, but U.S. men will split half of their World Cup bonus with players in the U.S. women’s national team pool. Next year, the USMNT players will also earn half of what the USWNT earns during their 2027 World Cup campaign. That arrangement, which the draft links to a 2022 collective bargaining agreement between the USMNT, USWNT and U.S. Soccer, leaves the World Cup less of a standalone cash incentive than it is for many other nations.