 "Vinicius Jr. turns down lucrative €1 billion move to Saudi Arabia: Report")
Real Madrid and Vinicius Jr. have no intention of going for a staggering €1 billion deal, with annual salary of €350 million, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) interested in bringing the Brazilian to the Asian league.
As per reports, Real Madrid don’t intend to get into discussions over the move and the Brazilian isn’t willing to make the move either.
The Saudi PIF owns 75% of the capital of the country’s four clubs: Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
The intention behind PIF, working on behalf of the country’s Ministry of Sport, is to make Vinicius the face of the league as the country works towards hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup. The official confirmation towards the host will be made in December but there is no other bidder at this stage.
Madrid-based sports daily Marca reported that Madrid and Vinicius had “rejected the biggest transfer in the history of football” saying “the biggest contract in the world of sport” was on the table.
As per the outlet, neither the club nor Vinicius would even consider opening talks over a move, and “nobody inside the club” is contemplating a future without him.
Vinicius Jr, whose release clause stands at €1 billion ($1.1 billion, £856 million), has a contract until 2027 after signing an extension in 2022.
Vinicius Jr. joined Real Madrid for a fee of €45m from Brazilian club Flamengo in 2018. Since then he’s scored 93 goals in 263 appearances in all competitions.
During his six years in Madrid, he has won three La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues and two FIFA Club World Cups.
The world-record transfer is held by Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, who triggered Neymar’s €222 million release clause to sign him from Barcelona in 2017.
Ancelotti dismisses reports
On the eve of the UEFA Super Cup , Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti dismissed the speculation.
“There isn’t anything at all,” Ancelotti said before facing Atalanta. “There’s just speculation, at this time in the [transfer] market, which closes on Aug. 31. There’s just speculation, nothing else.”
“Of course speculation doesn’t affect [Vinícius],” Ancelotti said. “He’s here, he wants to be here. He wants to do his best and help Real Madrid.”
Ancelotti denied that Real Madrid’s sporting project was under threat from Saudi Arabia, who have made high-profile signings such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar in the past two years.
“No, absolutely not,” Ancelotti said. “We have our project and we continue in that. We have a squad of great quality. … We’ve lost important players and we’ve brought in others who have to adapt. We have to work to maintain the atmosphere, and the commitment, which was the key last year.”
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
