Romano Announced: Vitinha and Joao Neves Are Definitely Not for Sale

Fabrizio Romano announced from his official social media account today that Paris Saint-Germain has taken an extremely clear stance regarding the recent news about Real Madrid's interest in Vitinha and Joao Neves. The Italian journalist used the expressions "Paris Saint-Germain have been very clear on reports about Real Madrid and Vitinha or Joao Neves over the recent days… both of them are NOT for sale. Untouchable and key part of the project." In the same share, it was emphasised that the French team's stance has not shown any changes in recent days. Paris Saint-Germain's two Portuguese midfielders, who have experienced UEFA Champions League championship two times in a row, are in the club's plans as the main names shaping the future of the team under Luis Enrique.

In the background of the matter is Real Madrid's presidential election. In today's election, Enrique Riquelme is a candidate against Florentino Perez; current president Perez had implied on the Horizonte programme he attended before the election that he would make an offer of at least 150 million Euros for "a galactic player of the calibre of Cristiano Ronaldo or Kaká" in case of re-election. In the same programme, Perez had said that this figure would not be for Michael Olise, nor would it cover Premier League players such as Erling Haaland or Harry Kane. After this statement, the Spanish press began to list target addresses and Paris Saint-Germain's two Portuguese stars Vitinha and Joao Neves settled at the top of the list. Both players are names under the management of Jorge Mendes; Mendes had a close working relationship with Florentino Perez. However, La Cadena COPE's news and then Romano's official confirmation revealed that this scenario will not be realised.

The stance on the Paris Saint-Germain side is based on a structural decision, not just financial. According to information conveyed by Daily Sports and Yahoo Sports, the Qatar-based management refuses to "involve its players in this debate" because they think this is a deliberate strategy of Real Madrid. Vitinha's contract with PSG continues until 2029, while this date is 2030 for Joao Neves. Another important detail conveyed by Goal France is that the 90 million Euro release clause being talked about in the market does not exist — Marca had claimed that there was a clause of 90 million Euros in Vitinha's contract that could be activated as of 2026; Ilies Peeters from 90min Foot and then Romano denied this information. French laws do not allow such release clauses to be placed in contracts anyway; therefore, there is no legal ground for Real Madrid to make a move through a release fee.

When looking more closely at the sporting role established by the two players in Paris, PSG's stance becomes more understandable. Vitinha came to Paris from Wolverhampton in the summer of 2022 and became the playmaking heart of the team in Luis Enrique's system. The Portuguese midfielder proved to be one of Europe's most respected midfielders in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 Champions League championships both with his ball dominance and pass distribution quality. Joao Neves, on the other hand, transferred to PSG from Benfica's infrastructure in the summer of 2024 and became one of the important figures of the team's midfield trio despite being only 21 years old. The young Portuguese, who displayed an effective performance even in the match where they beat Inter 5-0 in the Champions League final this season, stands out in the European press as "one of the best of the new generation midfielders". According to PSG-internal sources, both players are extremely happy with their positions in Paris and it was stated that they have not expressed any desire to move to Madrid or any other club at the moment.

The search for an alternative will continue for Real Madrid. According to information conveyed by The Telegraph, Perez's actual first target is actually Bayern Munich's winger Michael Olise — but this again is associated with a move from another Premier League club. According to Madrid Universal's news, Bernardo Silva is also on Jose Mourinho's list to the president; the Portuguese star, who left Manchester City and could be transferred for free, is shown as Mourinho's favourite, but the player seems to prefer Barcelona. Florentino Perez's announcement of agreements with Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries before the election shows that the bulk of the transfer moves have been postponed to after the election. If current president Perez is re-elected today, he will not be able to actually put the Vitinha-Neves dream on the table; in the case of opponent Enrique Riquelme's victory, a different technical vision (connection with Jürgen Klopp) will come to the agenda anyway. In every scenario, the only truth that appears is the point Romano underlined: Paris Saint-Germain will not give up its midfield core this summer.

Source: Fabrizio Romano 

Image: en.parisfans.fr