As it looks likelier and likelier Cristiano Ronaldo is planted firmly at Real Madrid, his compatriot Paulo Futre nonetheless sees it the other way – without major changes, "I think he'll leave" he says.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez tells France Football "it's normal other clubs dream of having him" in reference to Ronaldo rumours, particularly those concerning Paris Saint-Germain. Despite that, he insists the Portuguese "is Di Stefano's heir and he is very happy".
“He is not going to leave Real Madrid. He is the best player in the world and he has to keep playing for the best team in the world.”
Read more: Andy Mitten's La Liga in focus – Valencia have the talent but Gary Neville needs experience in his charges
But, according to another Portuguese, it is not quite so clear on Ronaldo’s end. Madrid, facing a transfer ban, certainly have every incentive now to hold onto all their most important and talented players, none more so than Ronaldo. But, Futre says “life has been somewhat strange for Cristiano of late”.
Telling Portugal's Onda Cero "he's been booed and not been shown the affection he needs" Futre says "the big question is whether he'll stay at Real Madrid or join Manchester United or PSG".
“I can see Cristiano leaving Real Madrid,” he says. “I think a lot of things will have to change in order for him to stay.”
The former Sporting CP, FC Porto, Benfica and Atletico Madrid man does however concede "things are a little better now under Zidane".
Perez, in his interview, insists himself Ronaldo is through and through “the leader of Real Madrid”.
A return to Manchester United, or a big-money splash by PSG, have been the predominant possibilities linked to Ronaldo. Even as doubts about his continued viability atop the global game have surrounded Ronaldo this season, with spurts of ineffectiveness and Madrid mired in third in La Liga, his goals tally still reads as impressively as ever, with 27 in 27 matches in the league and Champions League. He has another 10 assists across those two competitions as well.
AS Roma
AS Roma have announced the signing of AC Milan forward Stephan El Shaarawy on a six-month loan deal that could see the Italy international make the move permanent, the Serie A club announced Tuesday.
El Shaarawy quit the San Siro for AS Monaco last summer but a clause in his contract meant the Ligue 1 club had to make the 23-year-old's move permanent if he made 25 appearances.
After El Shaarawy played 24 times for the Principality side, Monaco opted not to buy, much to the delight of many Roma fans who welcomed him to Rome on Tuesday in the belief he can inject new life into their embattled campaign.
Also see: The National's Transfer Talk page
A statement by Roma said: “AS Roma are delighted to announce the signing of Stephan El Shaarawy from AC Milan.
“The Italian forward joins on a loan deal until 30 June 2016, for a fee of EU1.4 million (Dh5.6m). The agreement includes an option to make the deal permanent, for a fee of EU13 million, before the beginning of the 2016/17 season.”
El Shaarawy will be expected to slot straight into Luciano Spalletti’s starting line-up after the club sold Ivorian striker Gervinho to Chinese side Hebei Fortune earlier Tuesday.
El Shaarawy told Roma TV: “I’ve joined Roma to show what I can do – to myself, the coach and the Italian game as a whole.
“I hope to repay the faith the club is showing in me and therefore I want to give 100 per cent when I play to try and achieve great things here.”
Roma sit fifth in Serie A, at 12 points behind leaders Napoli ahead of Saturday's home game against regional rivals Frosinone.
El Shaarawy has made 17 appearances for Italy, making his senior international debut on 15 August 2012 away to England. His first goal for Italy came on 14 November 2012 against France.
Crystal Palace
Emmanuel Adebayor has joined Premier League side Crystal Palace until the end of the season, the club announced Tuesday.
“Crystal Palace are delighted to announce the signing of striker Emmanuel Adebayor until the end of the season,” said a statement on the club’s website.
Togo striker Adebayor, 31, was released from his contract at Tottenham Hotspur in September but will now move from the North London side to South London top-flight rivals Palace.
Adebayor first came to the Premier League when he joined Arsenal from Monaco.
He joined Manchester City in a £25 million (Dh131.6m) deal during 2009 before loan spells at Real Madrid and Spurs ahead of his permanent move to White Hart Lane in August 2012.
Palace are currently 11th in the Premier League table.
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WORLD CUP FINAL
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
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Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
More on animal trafficking
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Poland Statement
All people fleeing from Ukraine before the armed conflict are allowed to enter Poland. Our country shelters every person whose life is in danger - regardless of their nationality.
The dominant group of refugees in Poland are citizens of Ukraine, but among the people checked by the Border Guard are also citizens of the USA, Nigeria, India, Georgia and other countries.
All persons admitted to Poland are verified by the Border Guard. In relation to those who are in doubt, e.g. do not have documents, Border Guard officers apply appropriate checking procedures.
No person who has received refuge in Poland will be sent back to a country torn by war.
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
