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Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund continues to show interest in signing Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid, according to reports.
The 24-year-old, who finished second behind Rodrigo last year Golden ball votes and was later crowned FIFA Men’s Player of the Year, was reportedly a transfer target for the cash-rich Saudi Pro League last summer.
Khaled Al Issa, Director of Al Ahli, he later confirmed that his club was interested in signing Vinicius after allowing Allan Saint-Maximin to join Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce – but “something unexpected happened” forcing the Saudi giants to pursue Brentford striker Ivan Toney instead.
ESPN reported that the PIF re-established contact with Vinicius’ representatives in December, mainly to show the Brazilian that he remains one of their top priorities.
“There is absolutely nothing,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said at the time regarding the potential departure of Vinicius. “Of course the speculation doesn’t affect (Vinicius). He’s here, he wants to be here. He wants to do his best and help Real Madrid.
“We have our project and we continue in it. We have a very high-quality team. We lost important players and brought in others who have to adapt. We have to work on maintaining the atmosphere, the commitment, which was crucial last year.”
Vinicius played a major role in Madrid winning a record 15th place Champions League crown last May, while his 15 La Liga goals helped the club secure a 36th title on the eve Clasico rivals Barcelona.
He spoke about his desire to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu in the coming years during the FIFA best player award speechand the Spanish giants consider him a cornerstone of the club’s future alongside Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.
Vinicius was appointed League Player of the Month in November and then won the FIFA Intercontinental Cup Ballon d’Or and Player of the Tournament awards in December after helping Real Madrid beat Pachuca in the final of FIFA’s version of the Club World Cup.
As for the Saudi professional league, they still boast big names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, and he wants to get Mohamed Salah on a free transfer this summer with his contract at the Premier League leaders Liverpool up.
