Saudi Arabia target sensational double La Liga swoop for Vinicius Junior and Barcelona superstar | OneFootball

It’s well-documented that Saudi Arabia are after Vinicius Junior, but like Real Madrid, Barcelona are also at risk of losing one of their star players. The Middle Eastern nation has had a recent €4bn cash injection, and a significant amount of these funds are likely to be used towards attracting more big names to the Saudi Pro League.

Earlier this week, it was reported that a €350m offer is being prepared for Vinicius, and a proposal of similar value may also be heading to the offices of Barcelona – that is because Saudi Arabia have taken a strong interest in their midfield superstar, Pedri.

As per Sport, officials from the Saudi Pro League spoke to Pedri’s representatives during the recent Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah, with the nation’s interest in the 22-year-old player being conveyed at that time.

Pedri has been in spectacular form for Barcelona in recent months (Photo by Goal / Getty Images)

Like with Vinicius, Saudi Arabia would aim to offer Pedri an extremely lucrative contract, which would include guarantees of becoming an ambassador for the 2034 World Cup, which FIFA have confirmed in recent months will be held in the Middle Eastern nation.

However, a roadblock in the Saudi’s interest is about to be hit. They had been hoping to take advantage of his contract situation (his current deals runs out at the end of next season), but according to recent reports, he has already reached a verbal agreement to extend his Barcelona stay until 2030 or 2031, with official confirmation expected next week.

Barcelona have no plans to lower Pedri’s €1bn release clause, and given that there is also no intention of accepting any incoming offers despite the club’s well-documented financial woes, it is likely to be mean that Saudi Arabia would need to reach this figure in order to get a deal done. However, there is no guarantee that the Spanish midfielder would move even if that happened, as he is very devoted to the Catalan giants.