Jose Mourinho thinks Vinicius Junior should have left Real Madrid in the summer to go somewhere he is 'respected'.

Arsenal enquired about the Brazilian superstar and reports suggested they were willing to offer him a mammoth £18.5million per season - more than any player at the club. 

His contract expires at the end of the season and the club's position is that he must lower his demands if they are to agree an extension. They would still be willing to make him their joint-highest earner alongside Kylian Mbappe. 

Vinicius Jr has often been a target of racism in Spain - there have been more than 20 such cases of alleged abuse towards him since he joined from Flamengo in 2018. The situation has reduced him to tears before, but he has insisted on staying in La Liga so that he doesn't 'give the racists what they want'.

His future has come under more scrutiny in recent times as he has had a slow start to the season - one goal and three assists in ten outings - and is now serving a four-match ban for pulling Villarreal star Nathan Saliba's hair. 

Mourinho said: 'If I were in his shoes, I probably wouldn't be here. I would have forced a move to a country where he'd be respected, but out of loyalty to Real Madrid and love for the club, he stayed.

'He believes things can improve, and he still has that smile. Nothing and no one can take it away from him.

'He's a fantastic guy, and it's easy to get along with him. I spend a few minutes alone with him every day. 

'I value him immensely because he always manages to live and survive with a smile.'

Vinicius has been a phenomenon at Real Madrid, scoring 129 times in 386 games from the wing. 

But the balance of power shifted to Mbappe when he joined from Paris Saint-Germain in 2024 and talk of his future has increased.

There is a chance that, if Madrid go a third season in a row without significant silverware, they choose to rebuild and go in a different direction. 

Moving away from the heavy 'superstar' model has worked for PSG and rewarded them with two Champions League titles in a row. 

Vinicius had a tricky summer, being knocked out of the last 16 of the World Cup with Brazil and then missing his pre-season return date as his representatives tried to revive talks over a contract extension.

If an agreement cannot be found on a new deal, Madrid could be open to selling in January, rather than lose him for free next summer. 

Last year Al Ahli were willing to offer a €1bn five-year contract offer for the 2024 Ballon d'Or runner-up.

Liverpool were also credited with interest earlier this window but are not in the mix for a player who earns around £520,000 a week.

Mourinho has been a strong defender of Vinicius and recently insisted to TNT Sports that he is going to get back on track.

'He is going to emerge,' the Portuguese promised. 'It is just a question of when.'