Real Madrid have approached Vinícius Júnior's agent to start talks about renewing his contract, a source has told ESPN.

The Brazil forward's contract runs until June 2027. Typically, the Spanish club only begins negotiations on renewals with star players when they have two years left to remaining on their deals, but the source said Madrid have made an exception for Vinícius.

In his case, Madrid decided to bring forward the talks because of ongoing interest from the Saudi Pro League in a transfer for the 2024 FIFA the Best winner.

Madrid have approached the player's team and indicated that they want to start discussions, starting with salary developments, according to the source.

However, the source also said that talks are at an early stage and that Vinícius' representatives have yet to receive a formal offer.

The source added that Vinícius is happy with his existing contract at Madrid and is in no rush to speed up negotiations.

Last month, Vinícius said he hopes to stay at Madrid for many years.

"It's very important for me to reach 100 goals and be a part of this club's history," Vinícius told Real Madrid TV. "At 24 years old, and after seven seasons, to be making history is something very important for me and my entire family. Let's hope I can carry on here for many more years."

ESPN previously reported that Vinícius was approached again by representatives from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns four Saudi Pro League sides, with an official offer from the Middle East therefore expected soon.

A new meeting between Madrid executives and Vinícius' agent is scheduled to take place in a fortnight when the team takes on Manchester City in the Champions League playoff stage, the source told ESPN.

Vinícius has scored 17 goals in all competitions for Madrid this season, helping them top LaLiga and reach the Champions League knockout phase playoffs.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said last week amid the Saudi Arabia links that Vini Jr. is "choosing glory" over a lucrative move to the SPL.

"They're individual decisions," Ancelotti said. "But to me, the player [Vinicius] looks happy and excited about staying here and winning trophies with Real Madrid. I think he's thinking about choosing glory."

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim said his side's last-gasp winner against Leicester City in the FA Cup fourth-round showed the team believed until the final whistle, but it had "nothing to do with Fergie time."

In one sense, Friday night's result brought a familiar feeling from the days of Sir Alex Ferguson, when late winners became as synonymous as the titles his sides won.

However, it was the sluggish first-half performance that drew Amorim's ire after the match.

"We had to believe until the end but this game has nothing to do with the time of Fergie. I think the performance, we have to do so much better with the ball, without the ball," Amorim told ITV after the match.

"We didn't have any energy in the beginning, especially in the first-half. Then in the second half we played a little bit better, with a little more speed, winning second balls. Then we managed to turn things around so it was a good result not a good performance.

"The coach is the first responsible, when one team doesn't perform, doesn't improve, it is the coach but we are here to do things and to see the game, to study the game and try to improve for the next game."

United failed to manage a shot on target in the first half at Old Trafford -- the third time this season they have done so, according to ESPN Global Research.

United went behind before half-time when Wilfred Ndidi's shot was blocked by goalkeeper André Onana, only for Bobby De Cordova-Reid to head in the rebound from close range.

A strike from Joshua Zirkzee levelled the scores in the second half, and the game appeared to be heading into extra time before Maguire headed in the winner in the 93rd minute from Bruno Fernandes' free kick, seconds before the final whistle.

"I think it's the small things, if you see the games sometimes it's to control the ball, to have the ball, don't give the ball away in the first pressure. It's the small things, it's the big things, it's everything," Amorim added.

"It's this moment, it's hard away but especially at home but we have to cope with that and we will try to do it next game."

Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy let his own displeasures known after the game, pointing to Maguire being in an offside position when the free-kick was delivered.

"This (loss) wasn't necessary," an unhappy Van Nistelrooy told ITV. "This was half a meter [offside]. Then extra time, stay in the game, you never know what happens.

"We deserved to go into extra time and maybe penalties. Decisions like these in our level are hard to swallow."

VAR will be used in the FA Cup for this first time this season in the fifth round.

MANCHESTER, England -- Ruben Amorim will hope that one day, the FA Cup will slip down his list of priorities.

Right now, though, with Manchester United languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, it's offering some welcome respite for the under-pressure manager.

Nothing is coming easy for Amorim at the moment and United, who handed a debut to January signing Patrick Dorgu, had to fight back from a goal down to beat Leicester City 2-1 at Old Trafford on Friday. It required a stoppage time header from Harry Maguire -- which appeared to be offside -- to book United's place in the FA Cup's fifth round.

But the most important thing for Amorim is that they've advanced, and hardware is still on the line.

It has been tempting for some supporters to believe that the club has written off the rest of this season, particularly after a quiet January transfer window with little effort made to add a new attacker. At least the FA Cup offers something to keep fans interested.

Until Amorim can turn this team around to the point where title challenges become the norm -- and that seems a long way off right now -- he needs to cling to every small success he can.

"It was a good result, not a good performance," Amorim said. "I think the performance, we have to do so much better with the ball, without the ball. Today is a feeling of the win, and the fans go home with that feeling of win.

"It's hard to point to something to give them [the fans] confidence, just the spirit in the second half, more energy, more second balls. The rest, there is a lot to improve. We already knew that we need to do better."

Amorim has repeatedly warned supporters that things could get very messy between now and the summer, when he'll have a chance to bring in his own players and time to work on the training ground. Home defeats to Bournemouth, Newcastle, Brighton and Crystal Palace have proved him correct.

United aren't good enough at the moment for the week-in, week-out battle of the Premier League. The good news for Amorim is that you don't need to be consistent in the FA Cup.

You just need to be good a little bit, and in fits and starts. Throw in a little bit of luck and you can get quite close to Wembley. Maybe even win the whole thing. And United were fortunate to get through the FA Cup last round when Arsenal failed to take advantage of Diogo Dalot's red card and lost on penalties at the Emirates.

Even with all their problems, Amorim's team were expected to beat Leicester, a side rooted in the bottom three in the Premier League -- but United still struggled.

The first half was so poor that they couldn't muster a single shot on target as Ruud van Nistelrooy's team went in at half-time deservedly 1-0 up. United's first-half expected goals tally of just 0.05 was tied for the lowest in Amorim's 20 games in charge.

The game only changed in the second half with the introduction of substitutes Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee. Even then it was a slog. Zirkzee scored to make it 1-1. But just as extra time beckoned, United were awarded a contentious free kick by referee Michael Salisbury after the ball flicked up off Garnacho and hit James Justin's elbow.

It was United's first bit of luck. Salisbury put the whistle to his lips, pulled it away again and then finally blew. Van Nistelrooy raged on the touchline and before the Dutchman had calmed down, Bruno Fernandes floated his cross into the box and Maguire headed in the winner.

Replays showed Maguire was at least a yard offside, but with no VAR until the next round, the goal stood. United's second -- and decisive -- piece of luck.

"VAR you have in a couple centimetres, a couple of inches; this was half a metre, clear in line," Van Nistelrooy fumed afterwards. "That was a hard one to take because the team deserves to draw in the end.

"Then extra time, stay in the game, you never know what happens. We deserved to go into extra time, go for the battle in extra time and maybe penalties. Decisions like these in our level are hard to swallow."

Even Amorim admitted the call was wrong, but such are the rules of the FA Cup.

"With VAR it was not a goal, and I think it's important to have because it's fair," Amorim said. "It's really hard to lose one game in the last minute with an offside play, but sometimes we deserve a little bit of luck."

At the moment, United need it.

The victory over Leicester was United's third in four games, but afterwards Amorim looked like a man whose worries have deepened rather than eased. It was the type of performance that will do that to a head coach. He has seen lots of them since taking over for Erik ten Hag in November.

The danger is that United could serve up the same in their next two games -- tricky away fixtures against Everton and Tottenham. They are two of only seven teams below them in the table, and if results don't go United's way, they could conceivably be 16th in two weeks. That would make things far messier than even Amorim anticipated.

At least he has another FA Cup tie to look forward to. It was a close call, but the competition continues to offer a glimmer of hope in an otherwise wretched campaign.

STORRS, Conn. -- RJ Luis Jr. scored six of his 21 points in the final 2:16 to help No. 12 St. John's extend its winning streak to 10 games with a 68-62 comeback victory over No. 19 UConn on Friday night.

St. John's 10-game conference win streak is its longest since a 14-game streak during the 1984-85 season, according to ESPN research. That season was also the last time the Red Storm reached the Final Four.

UConn led by as many as 14 points, and with the loss, tied its second-largest blown lead since Dan Hurley took over as head coach in 2018-19, according to ESPN research.

It also marked the fifth time this year St. John's has come back from a double-digit deficit to win, tied for the most in the nation with five other teams.

St. John's coach Rick Pitino said the team wasn't using the game to prove itself.

"We're the 11th-ranked team in the country. I don't think we have to show anybody," Pitino said. "We're highly ranked. We're No. 1 in the Big East. We play great basketball. We're out to win a game, not out to show people how good we are. We're the 11th- or 12th-ranked team in the country. I don't think there's any doubters."

Kadary Richmond scored all 13 of his points in the second half and Simeon Wilcher added 12 for St. John's (21-3, 12-1 Big East).

Liam McNeeley had 18 points for UConn (16-7, 8-4). Solo Ball had 13 points, while Tarris Reed Jr. had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

McNeeley, who missed the previous eight games with an ankle injury, had four points in a 6-0 run by UConn to put the Huskies up by six with 11:16 left in the second half. The Huskies couldn't build on it as St. John's regained the lead on back-to-back jumpers by Luis and Richmond.

Ben Gordon, who played for the Huskies from 2001 to 2004 and was a member of a national championship team in his junior season, was inducted into the Huskies of Honor at halftime.

Takeaways

St. John's: The Red Storm won despite missing 11 shots in a row during one stretch in the second half.

UConn: Ball and Jaylin Stewart got off to impressive shooting starts, but failed to score in the second half after combining for 22 points in the first half.

Key moment

With UConn leading by four, Richmond had a pair of baskets during a 6-0 run to take the lead. The Red Storm would score 12 points in a row.

Key stat

There were 20 points scored off turnovers, and 18 were scored by St. John's.

Up next

St. John's: Plays at Villanova on Wednesday.

UConn: At Creighton on Tuesday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Eli Manning isn't dwelling on his omission from the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

The former New York Giants quarterback, speaking a day after the four-person class was announced, said he's happy for those who made it and isn't letting what happened sour his outlook on his career or the Hall of Fame overall.

"I'm excited for those guys that got in," Manning told NFL Network's "Good Morning Football." "All of them are so deserving. Happy for them. I texted a few of them, the guys that I knew, and just congratulated them.

"I had a feeling it wasn't going to be my night, and I understand that. And I'm totally at peace. It's not going to change my outlook of my career and how I feel about it."

The 2025 class includes tight end Antonio Gates, cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen and wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. It's the smallest class since 2005.

The group will be inducted Aug. 2 in Canton, Ohio.

Manning was in his first year of eligibility and had a complicated case for the Hall of Fame, leading to widespread debate on his candidacy. He led the Giants to two Super Bowl wins over the New England Patriots and two Super Bowl MVPs. He was top 10 all time in passing yards (57,023) and touchdowns (366) when he retired following the 2019 NFL season. And he never missed a game in his 16-year career because of injury.

But the biggest obstacle, according to some Hall of Fame voters in the room, was that Manning was never really in the discussion as the best player at his position for a chunk of his career.

Manning, of course, still can be selected as part of future classes. But a maximum of five modern-era players can be chosen each year, and first-time nominees for the 2026 class include Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Jason Witten, Frank Gore and Philip Rivers, so the competition will remain stiff.

Information from ESPN's Jordan Raanan was used in this report.

Jake Paul fired back at Canelo Alvarez on Friday night, claiming that the four-division champion "ducked" a fight with him to sign a lucrative deal with Riyadh Season.

In a video posted to social media, Paul showed what he said was a contract signed by himself and Alvarez for a fight that the two sides were set to formally announce next week. Sources told ESPN's Mike Coppinger on Thursday that Alvarez and Paul were finalizing a deal to fight May 3 in Las Vegas.

But in a stunning development, Alvarez changed course hours later Thursday and instead completed a four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, effectively killing the fight with Paul that was expected to land on Netflix.

"The truth is, you could be bought," Paul, addressing Alvarez, said in his video. "You're a money-hungry squirrel chasing your next nut. The truth is, these sports-washing, shady characters are paying you hundreds of millions of dollars to stop our fight from happening because they couldn't fathom the fact that they can't create a bigger fight than me and you."

Sources told ESPN that Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, told Alvarez that the deal with Riyadh Season -- which included a Sept. 13 megafight with former undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford in Las Vegas -- would be off the table if he proceeded with the planned fight with Paul.

After Alvarez's deal with Riyadh Season was announced, Alalshikh told ESPN, "Canelo only fights real fighters," a not-so-subtle shot at Paul and the deal with Alvarez that fell through.

"Claiming he's not fighting YouTubers. Bulls---," Paul said in his video. "Claiming he's fighting real fighters, but he's fighting Crawford, a 135-pound fighter, and running from a real fighter like David Benavidez."

Crawford, ESPN's No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter, began his career as a lightweight but recently made his 154-pound debut with a victory over Israil Madrimov in August.

Paul took one final shot in his video, challenging the notion that Alvarez is boxing's top star.

"You call me a YouTuber, but you've never had a boxing match as big as mine," Paul said. "I promise you one thing, Canelo. Any fight that you do this year, mine will be bigger."

Paul, 28, gained fame as a social media star who turned into a boxer and has an 11-1 record. He is one of boxing's top attractions despite his novice skill level. His November fight with the 58-year-old Mike Tyson, which Paul won via an eight-round decision, peaked at a staggering 64 million concurrent streams on Netflix.

Alvarez, 34, is the unified champion at 168 pounds and is a former 175-pound champion. He has surpassed 1 million pay-per-view buys several times, including twice during his legendary trilogy with Gennadiy Golovkin.

PHOENIX -- Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are both out due to injuries for the Phoenix Suns in their game against the Utah Jazz on Friday night, one day after a trade deadline where both players were the subject of multiple trade rumors.

Durant (ankle) is missing his second straight game while Beal (left toe) was seen hobbling late in the Suns' loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Both were listed as questionable on the injury report earlier Friday.

The disappointing Suns are 25-25 and on a three-game losing streak.

The Suns were relatively quiet at the trade deadline, though they traded disgruntled center Jusuf Nurkic and a first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic.

Nate Robinson has a new kidney.

The ex-NBA guard received the new organ during an hourslong transplant surgery that began Friday morning at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.

Robinson, who began the day surrounded by friends and family, received his new kidney from a live donor.

As ESPN chronicled in the summer of 2024, Robinson first learned nearly 20 years ago, when he was playing for the New York Knicks, that his kidneys weren't functioning properly and that he would one day need a transplant.

Then, in 2021, Robinson learned that his kidneys were failing, and he began receiving weekly dialysis treatments at a Seattle clinic, where, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, he would sit in a chair from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. while a tube pumped fluids in and out of his arm.

Robinson had assumed, initially, that he would automatically be placed on a waiting list for a kidney, and he struggled to navigate his way through the process.

In the fall of 2022, Robinson first went public about undergoing treatment for kidney failure, but it wasn't until two years later, in the spring of 2024, that he announced that he needed a donor.

Soon after, Robinson told ESPN last year, the University of Washington -- his alma mater -- was inundated with offers from people willing to donate their kidney.

Last fall, Robinson underwent a series of procedures, including a colonoscopy, as the number of donors were whittled down to find an ideal match.

Before the procedure began Friday, Robinson posted on his Instagram, saying, in part, "I'm here to celebrate and thank the LORD for all he has done in my life, today is the day I get my new kidney, thank you to all the people that sent prayers and texted my phone giving me encouragement (and) love!!!"

From 2005 through 2016, Robinson played 11 seasons in the NBA with eight different teams. He averaged 11 points per game, including 17.2 in 2008-09, his final season with the Knicks, and he won the slam dunk contest in 2006, 2009 and 2010.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Chet Holmgren's return from injury makes the NBA-best Thunder even better.

Last season's runner-up for rookie of the year was back in Oklahoma City's starting lineup Friday night after missing nearly three months with a pelvic fracture. The versatile 7-foot-1 forward had four points, five rebounds, four blocks and two steals during the Thunder's 121-109 win over the Toronto Raptors.

"It's amazing," he said. "I missed it for a long time, and I worked really hard to be able to get back out there. So I'm happy and excited and look forward to continue to try and help us win and keep improving."

He played 22 minutes and the Thunder outscored the Raptors by 22 points while he was on the floor.

Holmgren was the second pick in the 2022 draft but missed what would have been his rookie season with a foot injury. He played all 82 games in 2023-24, averaging 16.5 points and 7.9 rebounds to help the Thunder earn the No. 1 seed in the West.

He averaged 16.4 points and 8.7 rebounds in 10 games this season before getting injured. He wasn't expected to approach those numbers Friday.

"It ties a bow on his return to play. His return to performance isn't over," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "It takes a while for a guy that's been out that long, especially a lower-body injury, to get himself back to game shape, endurance, rhythm, all those things. And so we'll continue to work with him on probably a week-to-week basis. But it was a great start."

Holmgren could afford to ease his way in because his absence did little to slow MVP contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, who sit comfortably atop the West standings. They improved to 41-9 with the win over Toronto.

Still, there was high anticipation for his return. Holmgren was cheered during pregame warmups, and the crowd was even louder when he became the first Thunder player introduced.

Holmgren's first basket was a floater from 4 feet away just over two minutes into the game.

On Oklahoma City's next basket, Holmgren drove to the paint, spun and found center Isaiah Hartenstein, who drove to the lane and made a floater.

Holmgren's second and last field goal, also in the first quarter, was set up by the footwork fans have come to expect. With his back to the basket, he jab-stepped right, then spun left and hit a fadeaway from just inside the free-throw line.

In the fourth quarter, he stuffed a dunk attempt by Scottie Barnes, his most emphatic play of the night and emblematic of his overall strong defense.

According to Second Spectrum, Holmgren held the Raptors to 1-of-8 shooting (12.5%) in the paint as the contesting defender. That is his second-lowest field goal percentage allowed in the paint in a game in his career. He is now holding opponents to 38.6% shooting in the paint as the contesting defender this season, the best in the NBA.

Holmgren and fellow big man Hartenstein played together for the first time all season. Hartenstein, a free-agent pickup this past summer, missed the early part of the season with a broken left hand.

Holmgren only took five shots because he knew he didn't need to score to affect the game.

"It's not going to be the Chet Holmgren show," he said. "This is the Thunder. Whether I had an injury or not, that's what it is. I'm just trying to go out there and help the team win in any way I can. I'm not expecting to become like a sideshow apart from what our goal is going out there every single night, and that's to win basketball games."

Daigneault said inserting such a talented player into a group that's having success can present challenges. He commended Holmgren for being a good teammate and making it easier.

"We're not asking for it to be perfect," he said. "It's one of those things that, if it requires one step backwards to take two steps forward, we're willing to do that because we think it's got a really high ceiling."

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.

DALLAS -- For the first time in his career, Anthony Davis' arrival to a franchise hasn't resulted in celebrations in the city.

In Dallas, the deal that brought the 10-time All-Star to the Mavericks has resulted in heartbreak and anger. Days later, the fan base remains in shocked disbelief that 25-year-old superstar Luka Doncic got blindsided by the blockbuster deal only months after he led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals.

"I understand it," Davis said Friday regarding the fans' outrage. "Obviously it's a business, and I get who Luka was to this franchise, to the city. I'm never going to downplay that -- just how I know what I meant to the city of L.A. So I'm not surprised by the fans' reaction and the city's reaction, but it's my job to come in and play basketball and do what I'm supposed to do and give the fans hope and reassurance on why [GM] Nico [Harrison] brought me here."

A protest is planned outside the American Airlines Center before Davis makes his Mavericks debut in Saturday afternoon's home game against the Houston Rockets. Billboards criticizing Harrison and the team's new ownership group are planned around the arena after a GoFundMe account raised more than $40,000.

"I don't know how tomorrow's going to be as far as the reaction, but I can't control that," Davis said. "What I can control, it's going and just winning basketball games and helping the team do whatever I can. But at the end of the day, I'm going to give the city life back."

Harrison, who has accepted sole responsibility for the decision to trade Doncic, did not participate in the Friday news conference to introduce Davis along with Max Christie and forward Caleb Martin, who was acquired in a separate trade.

The general manager cited a desire to upgrade Dallas' defense and enhance the Mavericks' culture as among the reasons he made the trade when he met with a smaller group of media Sunday, hours after the deal was done.

Sources told ESPN that there will be an increased security presence at the American Airlines Center on Saturday due to threats received by Harrison, some of which have included racial epithets. Harrison has also employed personal security in the aftermath of the trade, sources said.

Harrison managed to keep his discussions with Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka private before agreeing to the deal and did not negotiate with other teams. After determining that it was in Dallas' best interest to trade Doncic, Harrison targeted Davis as the headliner of the return package.

A longtime Nike executive before being hired as the Mavericks' general manager in 2021, Harrison has had a close relationship with Davis since the star was a teenager. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who was a Lakers assistant coach when Davis helped lead Los Angeles to the 2019-20 championship, also has a strong bond with the big man.

"Obviously, I understand who Luka is and what he's able to do and what he's already done for our game," said Davis, a five-time All-Defensive selection who is averaging 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game this season. "He's a phenomenal player, going to be one of the best to ever play the game of basketball.

"But to have Nico trade for me just shows his belief in me and what I can do on the floor. It's my job to produce every night and have Mavs nation believe that as well. So I'm excited for the challenge."