During the World Cup, Real Madrid made a new offer to Vinicius Jr. It was in the region of €22million, and was rejected by the player. After Brazil were knocked out, a meeting was then scheduled for August 5, when he would be back with the club after holidays.

After starting work at Madrid in June, Jose Mourinho had been in regular contact with Vinicius Jr. He was keen for the player to stay and wanted him in the squad, but would have accepted any decision made by the club. Some key figures were in favour of selling Vinicius Jr if no agreement could be reached, fearing he might end up leaving for nothing.

Aware of the whole picture, Arsenal were optimistic.

On their side, everything was in place to go ahead if no agreement was reached between Madrid and Vinicius Jr. Right up until that August 5 meeting, Arsenal were confident the player’s decision could go their way.

When news emerged that Real Madrid had made another improved offer to Vinicius Jr in those talks, it sent ripples through the Arsenal hierarchy. It was received as bad news; even if there had been no final decision, key figures suspected it meant he would extend.

They were proved right. Vinicius Jr’s decision to stay at the Bernabeu was communicated to Arsenal last Wednesday by both the player and his representatives, who expressed their gratitude for the treatment they had received.

They explained they were only turning Arsenal down because of Vinicius Jr’s affection for Real Madrid — and the Spanish club’s significant financial effort to retain him. Hours earlier, Madrid had made a surprising and decisive move.

The crucial meeting between Real Madrid and Vinicius Jr took place at a restaurant in the Spanish capital, not at the training ground. It was attended by Frederico Pena and Tata Soares, Vinicius Jr’s two most trusted agents, as well as Jose Angel Sanchez and Juni Calafat.

Madrid president Florentino Perez was not directly involved, but he was kept informed of developments, and Sanchez and Calafat negotiated on the basis of what had been discussed with the 79-year-old.

Although both sides agreed to keep the exact figures private, aware of how it could affect future renewals, Madrid did go higher than the €22million figure which was turned down. Sources close to the negotiations said the final sum reflected the Brazilian’s importance to the 15-time European champions.

The full story of Vinicius Jr’s Real Madrid contract saga. How close did Arsenal get?