It is well documented that Saudi Arabia is after Vinicius Junior, but like Real Madrid, Barcelona are also at risk of losing one of their star players. The Middle Eastern nation has recently received a €4 billion cash injection, and a significant amount of these funds are likely to be used to attract more big names to the Saudi Pro League.
Earlier this week, it was reported that a €350m bid for Vinicius was being prepared, and a similar value proposition could also be heading to Barcelona’s offices – this is because Saudi Arabia has shown a great interest in their midfield superstar, Pedri. .
According to Sport, Saudi Pro League officials spoke to Pedri’s representatives during the recent Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah, and at that time the nation’s interest in the 22-year-old was conveyed.
Like Vinicius, Saudi Arabia would try to offer Pedri an extremely lucrative contract, which would include guarantees of becoming an ambassador for the 2034 World Cup, which FIFA has confirmed in recent months will be held in the Middle Eastern nation.
However, it is about to hit a roadblock in the interests of Saudi Arabia. They were hoping to take advantage of his contractual situation (his current contract ends at the end of next season), but according to recent reports, he has already reached a verbal agreement to extend his stay in Barcelona until 2030 or 2031, with an official agreement. Confirmation is expected next week.
Barcelona have no plans to reduce Pedri’s billion-euro release clause, and given that there is also no intention of accepting any incoming offers despite the club’s well-documented financial problems, it is likely a bad thing that Saudi Arabia needs reach this figure in order to close a deal. However, there is no guarantee that the Spanish midfielder will move even if that were to happen as he is very devoted to the Catalan giants.