Looks like Manchester United lost out on 19-year-old Patrick Zabi, who’s about to join Paris FC. French outlets say United kept a close eye on the Stade de Reims midfielder, along with a bunch of other top European clubs.

Paris FC, though, ended up winning the race for him. The deal’s worth €25 million, roughly £21.5 million, and should go through this summer. Zabi’s gotten a lot of attention since he broke into Reims’ first team at 18 last February. He’s played 24 games, scored twice, and picked up three assists. According to L’Equipe, Paris edged out United, Newcastle, and Bournemouth for his signature.

He also drew interest from Italy—Inter, AC Milan, and Fiorentina all watched him. Right now, nothing’s official, but at this point, it’s just the paperwork left.

Journalist Sascha Tavolieri claims Jurgen Klopp got involved and helped sway Zabi toward the French side, who sit 14th in Ligue 1. Paris FC, based right near PSG, changed hands in 2024 when the Arnault family—who topped the world’s billionaire list that year—took over.

Red Bull came in with a minority stake, and Klopp, now Head of Global Soccer for them, plays an advisory role. He’s apparently been key in getting the deal over the line, beating out United and Newcastle.

As the window closed, United’s interim boss Michael Carrick didn’t rule out new signings, even though he’s only in the job temporarily. He said, “To be honest, we’re just working through it. Never say never, of course, because a lot can happen, and situations can be thrown up sometimes.

“Sometimes it’s something that’s out of our control that we’ve got to deal with. We’re calm. We’ve shown what we’re capable of doing as a team, and we’ll just have to see what the next few days bring, but I’m calm about it.”

Cristiano Ronaldo has been the main attraction in the Saudi Pro League ever since he landed in the Middle East three years ago. Now, for the first time, it looks like he’s actually thinking about leaving. He’s frustrated. He feels the playing field isn’t level, and it’s starting to get to him.

Here’s the deal: Four clubs in the league—Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli—get their backing straight from the state. But Ronaldo sat out Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh on Monday night. Why? He was protesting. He found out Al-Hilal was about to sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad, and that was the last straw. From Ronaldo’s perspective, Al-Hilal keeps getting more freedom to splash cash than everyone else. They’re the current champions, and Ronaldo still hasn’t managed to win his first Saudi title.

Saudi officials tried to calm him down. According to Diario AS, they reached out and argued that most of Al-Hilal’s extra spending comes from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, not the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Al-Hilal just brought in Kader Meite for €30 million, Saimon Bouabre for €23 million, and now Benzema. Al-Nassr, on the other hand, only managed two free transfers this winter. Sure, they spent a lot more in the summer, but that didn’t seem to matter to Ronaldo.

Reports from Portugal, cited by AS, say Ronaldo’s not ruling anything out—not even leaving Saudi Arabia this summer. That’s despite just signing an extension with Al-Nassr until 2027.

And honestly, he has a point. Since he arrived, Al-Hilal have spent €647 million, while Al-Nassr have shelled out €410 million and Al-Ittihad €365 million. These numbers probably don’t include salaries—and let’s face it, nobody’s making more than Ronaldo. He’s supposed to return on Friday when Al-Nassr face Al-Ittihad, but right now, no one really knows if he’ll play or if he’s planning his next move.