D.C. United is planning preseason trip to Saudi Arabia

United officials said they did not want to comment.

United has spent the bulk of its past two training camps at the Coachella Valley Invitational in Southern California. The club did not enter the competition this year and has yet to announce alternative plans.

Players are due to report to Inova Performance Complex in Leesburg about Jan. 15. In all likelihood, United would travel soon thereafter to Saudi Arabia before moving to South Florida to continue preparations for its Feb. 24 opener against the New England Revolution at Audi Field.

Inter Miami announced its Saudi Arabia plans Dec. 11, saying it will join Saudi Pro League clubs Al Hilal and Al Nassr in the Riyadh Season Cup. Miami’s Feb. 1 game will pit Messi against Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in a reunion of former rivals at Barcelona and Real Madrid.

It is unclear how many games United would play and whom it would face, but given the distance traveled, it would probably play two or three matches.

From November: The Middle East’s play to rule global sports

Saudi soccer was not globally prominent until recent years, when it began investing heavily in sports. Last winter, superstar Ronaldo led a parade of prominent Europe-based players to the Saudi league, including Neymar, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Sadio Mané. The country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has stakes in four domestic clubs, including league leaders Al Hilal and Al Nassr, which employs Ronaldo.

The PIF also owns the Premier League’s Newcastle United and LIV Golf, which has tossed that sport into chaos by luring players from the PGA Tour with lucrative contracts. Saudi Arabia just hosted the FIFA Club World Cup, won by Manchester City, and is in line to stage the 2034 World Cup.

United would not be the first Washington team to engage with a Middle East country accused of “sports washing” — a term to describe the use of sports to deflect attention from poor human rights records. This summer, Ted Leonsis, who owns the Washington Wizards, Capitals and Mystics, sold a 5 percent stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment to the Qatar Investment Authority for approximately $200 million. Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup and is seeking to stage an Olympics.

D.C. United trades for star Wake Forest defender Garrison Tubbs

Hugo Pérez, a former U.S. national team player and youth national team coach who most recently guided the Salvadoran national team, interviewed for D.C. United’s head coaching job, a person close to the process said.

Others believed to be under consideration are Robin Fraser (formerly with the Colorado Rapids), Troy Lesesne (formerly with the New York Red Bulls), Domènec Torrent (formerly with New York City) and B.J. Callaghan (a current U.S. national team assistant). Bruce Arena, the most successful pro coach in U.S. soccer history, has not been interviewed but has not been ruled out, either, one person familiar with the situation said. …

United is preparing to pay a $1.3 million transfer fee for playmaker Gabriel Pirani, a 21-year-old whose loan from Brazilian club Santos expires this month, two people close to the talks said. United’s other options were to negotiate another loan until the summer or cut ties.