MADRID: Real Madrid are close to agreeing a contract extension for Vinicius Junior after talks began in January following interest from Saudi Arabia to buy the FIFA World Player of the Year in a record-breaking deal, sources said yesterday.

Although the Brazilian forward’s current contract expires at the end of the 2026-27 season, the Spanish champions contacted the player’s agent last month to begin new negotiations, thus curbing Saudi interest that had been ongoing for more than a year.

Sources close to Vinicius said that despite several calls from Saudi Arabia showing interest in a move to Al-Ahly, a formal contract offer was never discussed and Saudi confidence has waned in recent months.

Real denied being contacted by the Saudi club but a source close to the Madrid club said they were approached by officials from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) during the Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah earlier last month asking about Vinicius.

However, the European champions are not interested in negotiating a transfer, citing a €1 billion buyout clause as the only scenario they would allow the Brazilian to leave Madrid.

“I don’t know anything, nobody has spoken to me about it (the Saudi offer),” Vinicius told TNT Sports after Real’s 3-2 win at Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League play-off on Tuesday.

“They need to talk to the (Real) president. I hope I can stay here for a little longer,” the player said after the match.

“It’s always exciting to be able to negotiate with Real Madrid about a contract renewal. I have a contract until 2027, but I always talk about my passion to play here for longer to be able to make history here.”

Real announced Vinicius’ final contract extension in October 2023, a four-year deal reportedly worth 13.5 million euros in terms of annual salary.

He opted for a shorter, incentive-based deal, compared to the five- to six-year contracts that most Real players typically sign.

LONDON: Arsenal’s bid to win the Premier League (EPL) may face a tortuous path after Kai Havertz was reportedly forced to miss the rest of the season.

The German striker suffered the injury during a training camp in Dubai and is scheduled to undergo a more detailed examination once the club returns to England.

Media reports suggest the 25-year-old has suffered a hamstring injury and could miss the rest of the season.

Arsenal, however, has yet to comment further on the extent of Havertz’s injury.

The potential for being sidelined for an extended period of time seems to be a blow to manager Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s attempts to strengthen their attacking line-up during the January transfer window came to a standstill.

The club failed in their attempt to sign Ollie Watkins from EPL rivals Aston Villa.

Arsenal have already lost several key players including Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

The Gunners currently only have three striker options, namely Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri.

Arsenal are currently second in the league, six points behind leaders Liverpool who still have a game in hand.

LONDON: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insists there is no disagreement with his old friend Pep Guardiola ahead of a crucial clash against Manchester City this weekend.

Previously, City players accused Arsenal of using dirty tactics in a tense match that ended in a 2-2 draw last September.

In the match, City midfielder Rodri suffered a serious knee injury while Arsenal were forced to play with 10 men after Leandro Trossard was sent off.

The match also saw a tense incident in which City striker Erling Haaland sparked controversy by throwing the ball at Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes after a late equaliser by John Stones.

Arteta, who was Guardiola’s assistant at City before taking over at Arsenal in 2019, denied their relationship had suffered.

“I was there for four years. I know how competitive they are. They win and win, that’s what I mean,” he said at a media conference today.

Commenting further on speculation of a strained relationship between them, Arteta said: “If there was a problem, we wouldn’t be on the phone or texting. But that’s what happened, so there’s no issue.”

Guardiola has previously dismissed claims of a strained relationship, describing his friendship with Arteta as “extraordinary.”

This Sunday’s match is important for both teams in the English Premier League.

Arsenal, who are currently in second place, are six points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

City, meanwhile, are in fourth place and are looking to close the gap in points in their bid to defend the league title.

PARIS: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted that his team was dominated by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) when they lost 4-2, which affected their hopes of advancing to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Guardiola’s men squandered a two-goal lead early on as PSG stormed to a four-goal second-half comeback.

The result saw City drop to 25th place, one place outside of play-off qualification.

They now need to win when they host Club Brugge in the final group stage match on January 29.

“We had our moments and they had their moments, but they were better,” he told TNT Sports.

“They were quicker, quicker, they won the ball, we couldn’t handle it. They were very fast. The best team won. This game was never what we wanted.

“To play you have to play. To defend you have to hold the ball – we didn’t have it. They had it more, they attacked better, that’s why it was more difficult.”

The defeat was reminiscent of City’s shock defeat against Feyenoord two months ago, when they squandered a three-goal lead late in the match before drawing 3-3.

When asked about the possibility of City – Champions League winners in 2023 – not qualifying, Guardiola said: “It could happen. We’ll see.

“If we don’t win (against Brugge) we don’t deserve it. All the away games we have are difficult, but that’s the reality. We haven’t collected enough points.”

MANCHESTER, England: Manchester United suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton in the English Premier League just now after opposing winger Yankuba Minteh scored one goal and assisted another.

The hosts were not helped by an embarrassing mistake by goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter were also on the scoresheet in the second half for Brighton, who were unaffected when Joao Pedro’s goal was ruled out by VAR for a foul.

Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty for United to equalise in the 23rd minute to make it 1-1 at half-time but after Brighton took the lead for a second time, Onana made a mistake following a swipe into the penalty area, allowing Rutter to tap in the rebound in the 76th minute.

Brighton jumped to ninth on 34 points, four points clear of the top four.

United, on the other hand, fell one place to 13th place with 26 points from 22 matches.

Meanwhile, David Moyes won his first game at Goodison Park since returning as manager of the Toffees last week by beating Tottenham 3-2 while Nottingham Forest strengthened their position in third place by beating Southampton also 3-2.

LONDON: Pep Guardiola said today that Manchester City’s mood was improving after three consecutive wins but refused to comment on the potential signings of new players to bolster an injury-hit squad in January.

Premier League (EPL) champions City had won just one of their 13 matches in all competitions before their 2-0 win over Leicester on December 29.

They then beat West Ham 4-1 in Julen Lopetegui’s final game in charge of the London club and thrashed fourth-tier club Salford 8-0 in the third round of the FA Cup last week.

“Before, it was impossible to win one game, now we win three and it helps us,” said Guardiola ahead of the meeting with Brentford early this Wednesday morning.

“We did well, but we’re still waiting to see who we are. You know who we are, but of course the feeling is better.”

He added: “We had a difficult game (against Brentford). Thomas (Frank) and his team always created problems. They are an amazing team.”

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: Real Madrid are chasing their dream of equalling a record 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals from Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them win 3-0 over Mallorca in the semi-final early this morning.

England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a flicked shot into the centre of the goal before an own goal by Mallorca defender Martin Valjent doubled the lead in injury time followed by Rodrygo’s close-range strike.

Spanish champions Real will face Barcelona for the trophy on Sunday after goals from Gavi and Lamine Yamal gave Barca a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao early yesterday morning.

Barcelona and Real will face each other in the final of the competition for the third time in a row, with Carlo Ancelotti’s men winning last year while Barca last lifted the trophy in 2023.

Barcelona holds the record with 14 championships while Real has 13.

The Spanish Super Cup has been contested by four teams since 2020, featuring the winners and runners-up of La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has defended Trent Alexander-Arnold over his lacklustre display against Manchester United.

Van Dijk also rejected the notion that Real Madrid’s desire to sign his teammate was the cause of Alexander-Arnold’s negative impact.

Alexander-Arnold was the source of Lisandro Martinez’s opening goal which saw the two teams tied 2-2 at Anfield, thus showing that the player’s performance was below his true standard.

The right-back’s lackluster performance has been ongoing for a long time and has often been the subject of debate regarding his future with the English Premier League (EPL) leaders.

The 26-year-old’s contract is set to expire at the end of this season and this means he can now sign a pre-contract with a club abroad.

Spanish giants Real reportedly made a bid to sign him but Liverpool are believed to have rejected the offer.

Liverpool are scheduled to face Tottenham in London on Wednesday in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final.

“Trent has people around him, his family and we are here for him too,” said Van Dijk.

“He wants to perform at the best level possible, just like we do. That’s the main focus.”

MANCHESTER: Marcus Rashford is reportedly doubling down on his efforts to leave Manchester United this month as he holds talks with top sporting agencies.

Before losing to Newcastle, Rashford was left out four times by new manager Ruben Amorim, sparking speculation about the striker’s future at Old Trafford.

Rashford then revealed he was willing to take on the new challenge and has now taken the first step in his bid to leave United.

According to The Sun, Rashford has met with leading sports agency Stellar to help him leave Old Trafford in this month’s transfer window.

The same agency helped Gareth Bale move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid in 2013.

The United star is currently represented by his brother Dwaine Maynard who is ready to work with Stellar to make his brother’s move happen.

Rashford’s last appearance for United was on December 12 when he played 56 minutes against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League.

He was dropped from the squad for the games against Manchester City, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Wolves.

Rashford, whose contract with United only expires in the summer of 2028, made 426 appearances for the club and scored 138 goals.

MANCHESTER: Harry Maguire revealed why new manager Ruben Amorim is facing a difficult situation at Manchester United, and the former captain blamed the squad for not being good enough.

United slipped to 14th in the Premier League after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Wolves – their fifth defeat in 10 games under Amorim.

Matheus Cunha opened the scoring directly from a corner, the second time in a week that United had been conceded in the same way, before Hwang Hee-chan refused to go in after injury.

Bruno Fernandes was also sent off after receiving two yellow cards and Maguire expressed the differences between Amorim and former manager Erik ten Hag.

“I think it is very difficult for the controller and his troops to come because the method is not the same as the old controller.

“They are different in terms of what they want and demand, so it is difficult for them because they want to improve the team’s performance in defensive patterns and set-piece situations.

“He’s not good enough for us and the fans,” said Maguire, who has regained his place in the starting line-up under Amorim.

United have been conceded 10 times from set pieces this season and Maguire is worried that their weaknesses will continue to be targeted by opponents.

“If it happens often, you can’t blame luck, but it’s hard to swallow the fact that twice the opponent scored goals from corner kicks.

“I don’t think the Tottenham network is legitimate, but I haven’t seen this one. There are situations that cannot be avoided, but apart from that you need to assess your own mistakes and correct them,” he said.