Chelsea and Barcelona face stern competition from Saudi giants for Cristiano Ronaldo's Portuguese teammate: Reports

Chelsea and Barcelona are reportedly set to face difficult competition from Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal in the race to sign Rafael Leao, who is Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal teammate.

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes.net, Al-Hilal are on the hunt for an ideal replacement for Santos superstar Neymar. They are willing to lodge a significant transfer offer to convince AC Milan to sell Leao this summer.

Should Leao decide to seal a big-money switch to Ronaldo's league, he would potentially be one of the highest earners in Saudi Arabia. He would start over Salem Al-Dawsari should the winger join Al-Hilal in the future.

Leao, who has played alongside Ronaldo 28 times for Portugal, is enduring a poor season by his standards. The 25-year-old has registered nine goals and eight assists in 36 overall club games so far this campaign.

The Chelsea and Barcelona target's current deal will expire in June 2028.

Former Chelsea star hails Barcelona teenager

During a chat with TNT Sports, former Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder Emmnauel Petit was asked to name the new generation's best player. The 1998 FIFA World Cup winner replied (h/t Eurosport):

"It's Lamine Yamal, 17 years old. He does things on the pitch incredibly. He's having a great season so far with Barcelona, he won a big trophy last season with his national team, he was probably the best player during a European tournament... [at] 17 years old."

Petit, who represented both Chelsea and Arsenal as a player, continued:

"This guy, I would pay money to watch him. He can play right-footed, left-footed, he can dribble with both feet, so it's impossible [to stop him]. And on top of it, he's so dynamic, you know? With his feet, he's quick, he's fast and he always makes the right decision with the ball. On top of that, he's got the vision, the intelligence, the movement, he's got everything at 17 years old already."

Yamal, who will turn 18 this July, has relished a meteoric rise to fame over the past 18 months or so. He established himself as a vital starter for Barcelona last campaign and guided Spain to UEFA Euro glory last July.

So far this season, Yamal has started 31 of his 33 appearances in all competitions for his club. He has found the back of the opposition net 11 times and laid out 16 assists in 2684 minutes of first-team action for his side.