Vinicius returns to Real Madrid as Arsenal speculation mounts

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Arsenal target Vinicius Junior has resumed training with Real Madrid following his post-World Cup break.

Vinicius has had time off following Brazil’s disappointing World Cup campaign.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team reached the last 16, going down 2-1 to Norway.

Vinicius was Brazil’s leading scorer at the tournament with four goals.

He has been integral for Madrid in recent seasons, but with just one year left on his contract, the 26-year-old has emerged as an ambitious transfer target for Premier League champions Arsenal.

3 – The three players with the most completed dribbles across Europe’s big five leagues in 2025-26:

Lamine Yamal (133)
Yan Diomande (118)
Vinícius Júnior (87)

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 26, 2026

Madrid, though, have now confirmed Vinicius is back in training.

“Vini Jr. and Brahim [Diaz] have rejoined Real Madrid after their participation in the World Cup,” the club posted on its website on Monday.

“The two players went to the Blua Sanitas Valdebebas Hospital this morning for their medical examinations, before completing their first training session under [new coach Jose] Mourinho.”

Madrid are reportedly open to selling Vinicius, though a fee of over £100m (€116.7m) has been mooted.

Vinicius has registered 30+ goals and assists in all competitions in each of the last five seasons.

He ranked third among players in Europe’s top five leagues in 2025-26 for dribbles completed, with 87. Only Lamine Yamal (133) and Yan Diomande (118) completed more.

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