MADRID: Brazilian star Vinicius Junior reportedly wants to resolve his contract issues with Real Madrid and is not interested in considering an offer from Arsenal at the moment.

The Athletic’s report yesterday claimed that Arsenal are exploring the possibility of securing the services of the 26-year-old player, with the effort receiving full support from the Premier League club’s management.

Vinicius’ current contract with Real has only 12 months remaining, sparking speculation about his future at the Santiago Bernabeu as Arsenal look to add strength to their attacking line-up.

The rumours have intensified after Real reportedly reached personal terms with RB Leipzig star Yan Diomande, raising questions about whether Vinicius’ eight-year spell with the Spanish giants is coming to an end.

According to reports from AS, Vinicius feels undervalued due to ongoing speculation about Real’s interest in several other strikers such as Julian Alvarez, Michael Olise and Diomande.

However, the player who was runner-up in the 2024 Ballon d’Or is said to want to remain at Real, with his main priority being to reach an agreement on a new contract extension.

Vinicius wants the negotiation process to go smoothly without creating tensions like what happened last summer when contract talks stalled after the Club World Cup.

This approach also received support from Real management, who wanted to ensure that negotiations with Vinicius’ camp were going positively to end any doubts about the player’s future.

Contract talks are expected to resume next week after Vinicius returns from a short holiday in his hometown of Sao Goncalo, Brazil.

He is understood to want assurances about his role in Jose Mourinho’s first-team squad as well as a salary structure commensurate with his status.

Vinicius is reportedly demanding a salary of around 20 million euros net per season, an increase of 5 million euros compared to the earnings after his last contract renewal in 2022.

Since joining Real from Flamengo in 2017, the player has scored 128 goals and created 100 assists, in addition to helping the club win 14 trophies including three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues.

BARCELONA, Spain: Lamine Yamal provided two assists and scored another as Barcelona edged closer to defending their La Liga title with a 4-1 win over Espanyol in a clash of neighbours early this morning.

Ferran Torres scored twice while Yamal and Marcus Rashford also found the target late in the match as the Catalan club moved nine points clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid.

Real were held to a 1-1 draw against Girona on Sunday and with seven games remaining, including El Clasico at Camp Nou next month, Hansi Flick’s men are now in a very comfortable position.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid early Wednesday in the Champions League quarter-finals, looking to bounce back from a 2-0 first-leg deficit, but Flick still fielded a strong starting lineup against Espanyol.

Midfielder Pedri Gonzalez and 18-year-old winger Yamal played throughout the match as Flick did not want the return leg to disrupt his team’s league campaign.

Flick stressed that he will not accept complacency from players even if they are in a strong position.

“Every match has to start with the right attitude and mentality, with quality alone you won’t win anything,” said the German coach.

“I’m sure we can win La Liga but it’s not over yet.”

After a good start to the season, Espanyol lost at home to Barcelona in the first match of 2026 and have failed to record a win since.

They barely put up any resistance as Flick’s team comfortably led by two goals.

Yamal created both of Torres’ goals, including a corner kick that the Spain international headed in for his first goal since January.

Although some thought Flick might rest Yamal ahead of the match against Atletico, the teenager always wanted to play and become a favorite of Barcelona fans.

Yamal’s assist for the second goal was quite impressive when he laid a beautiful ball to Torres before the striker’s attempt beat Marko Dmitrovic.

“You always hear things around you, more negative than positive… I always focus on myself and keep improving,” Torres told DAZN.

LIVERPOOL, England: Liverpool put their lackluster performance in the English Premier League (EPL) behind them when they advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a big 4-0 victory over Galatasaray at Anfield, early this morning.

Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Hugo Ekitike, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah erased a 0-1 deficit in the first leg, setting up a meeting with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight.

Arne Slot needs a reaction from the English champions after they were jeered by their own fans at Anfield last Sunday following a poor performance in the 1-1 draw against Tottenham.

Currently in fifth place in the EPL, the Champions League competition is seen as being able to save Liverpool’s season and his position as manager.

Slot rested several key players last weekend and benefited when his team displayed a dominant performance that should have resulted in a bigger goal.

Galatasaray’s hopes of causing a shock suffered an early blow when key striker Victor Osimhen suffered an arm injury after a collision with Ibrahima Konate in the opening minutes.

The Nigeria international was seen limping before being taken off at half-time and replaced by Leroy Sane.

Szoboszlai, who has been outstanding throughout Liverpool’s difficult season, equalised on aggregate with a neat finish from a corner kick in the 25th minute.

Salah then squandered the best opportunity to double his lead when he failed to complete a pass past Ugurcan Cakir.

Florian Wirtz’s attempt, which was slightly deflected by an opposing player, just went over the bar, while Cakir also denied Szoboszlai’s powerful attempt.

The Turkiye goalkeeper was once again a stumbling block when he saved Salah’s weak penalty kick after Szoboszlai was brought down in the penalty area.

But Liverpool doubled their lead in the second half.

Salah made up for the failure with a precise pass to Ekitike to score the second goal.

Two minutes later, Gravenberch pounced on the rebound after Salah’s initial attempt was parried.

Salah finally scored his 50th Champions League goal in impressive style with a powerful shot from Wirtz’s backheel.

BERLIN: Jurgen Klopp is reportedly likely to become the new manager of the German national team this summer, with some at Red Bull reportedly concerned that he will leave the organization.

Klopp’s presence at several other events such as the Winter Olympics rather than attending important matches involving clubs under the Red Bull network has also raised questions among staff about his future.

The 58-year-old former coach left Liverpool in 2024 before joining Red Bull as head of global football in January last year.

But according to a Bild report , it is now an “open secret” that the behind-the-scenes role does not suit him very well.

The task also appears to not fully utilize Klopp’s skills, which are more prominent when managing players directly on the field.

Klopp’s agent, Marc Kosicke, also admitted last month that the former Liverpool manager has close ties with Germany.

“Jurgen is very attached to this country. That question doesn’t really arise at this time,” said Kosicke.

“I don’t think he feels he has to do it at least once. But he probably feels a responsibility, he can’t always turn down the offer.”

Klopp has previously turned down the chance to manage Germany, but Kosicke believes the former Liverpool manager may one day feel a responsibility to accept the job.

However, there is one major obstacle because current manager Julian Nagelsmann still has a contract with Germany until 2028.

The 38-year-old Nagelsmann has been in charge of the German squad since 2023 and led them to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, where they lost to eventual champions Spain.

Klopp is under contract with Red Bull until 2029 and according to a Bild report , he has actually held informal talks about the possibility of extending his contract with the organisation.