Vinicius Junior didn’t just sit back and watch as Kylian Mbappé or Jude Bellingham got linked to Real Madrid. He jumped right in, texting both of them, basically playing agent, nudging them toward Madrid.

Bellingham finally landed in Madrid in 2023 for a hefty €103 million, after what felt like endless rumours about Liverpool. Mbappé took a bit longer. After years of endless gossip, he finally let his contract at PSG run out and showed up a year later.

Vinicius wasn’t shy about his role. “Every summer, I’d message him: ‘When are you coming?’ "I acted like his agent,” he told Ibai Llanos in a recent interview. “Did the same with Bellingham.” Why? Simple: he just wants to play with the best, thinking that’s the ticket to more trophies. But, as always with Madrid, things aren’t that straightforward.

Vinicius is hooked on the Galáctico ideal, that old Real Madrid idea that you just keep stacking superstar talent and the team gets better. It’s a glamorous vision, but it’s also the sort of thinking that’s tripped Madrid up more than once under Florentino Pérez.

Pérez first took over with big promises, leading with the blockbuster signing of Luís Figo. Then came Zidane, Ronaldo, and Beckham, one superstar after another. But to pay Beckham’s wages, Pérez sold Claude Makélélé, the team’s midfield anchor. Zidane summed it up best: “Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you’re losing the engine?” Madrid paid for it. They won just a single Spanish Super Cup over the next three seasons, and Pérez eventually lost his job.

When Pérez returned in 2009, he started another Galáctico project, signing Ronaldo, Kaká, and Benzema. But then, in 2014, Madrid let go of Ángel Di María, the tireless engine in midfield, and brought in James Rodríguez, who never quite fit. Another trophy drought followed.

Now, with Mbappé in the mix, it feels like just another flashy addition. Madrid had just pulled off a tough league and Champions League double in 2024, with Joselu, an old-school striker, leading the line. But instead of sticking with what worked, they brought in the roaming, high-profile Frenchman.

Mbappé’s personal stats look great, but the team’s results haven’t matched up lately. Both Carlo Ancelotti and Xabi Alonso lost their jobs after the team failed to repeat those big wins.

And if anyone’s felt the impact, it’s Vinicius. He fought so hard for Mbappé to join, but now they both prefer the left wing. They’ve only shown flashes of real chemistry. The numbers are telling: before Mbappé, Vinicius scored about once every 155 minutes. With Mbappé on the pitch, that drops to once every 223 minutes.

The twist is, off the field, they’re tight. Mbappé is one of Vinicius’s closest friends at the club, along with Camavinga and Mendy. “We spend more time together than with our families,” Vinicius said. “We have to have a good relationship.” If only that connection showed up on the pitch.

So, who’s next on Vinicius’s call list? If he’s still playing the agent, Madrid now really needs a defensive midfielder, a new Toni Kroos, someone who can control the game. There are interesting options out there, like Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller or Chema Andrés, who came up through Madrid’s academy. But if Vinicius still wants a superstar, there’s one obvious (and tricky) choice: Rodri.

Rodri’s been on Madrid’s radar for years. He’s a serial winner, runs the show for Spain, and controls games at the highest level. He’d cost a fortune, but the fit is perfect. The problem is, he just won the 2024 Ballon d’ Or, the same award Vinicius thought he deserved. Vinicius was so upset, he and the entire Madrid delegation boycotted the ceremony in protest. Rodri didn’t seem too bothered. “It’s up to each person or club to decide what to do,” he said later. “I wouldn’t have done it, but that’s just me.”

Now, more than a year later, maybe those hard feelings have faded. If Madrid wants to keep building, Vinicius might just have to reach out again, awkward or not.