He was branded a "traitor", as "monstrously ungrateful" by the club who had employed him for several years. He had been written off as a lost cause. And yet, when he put on his national team jersey, the anxieties and the injuries appeared to fade away. He seemed inspired.
So it was with Brazil’s Ronaldo when he went to the first World Cup staged in Asia, with a scratchy pair of domestic seasons for Inter Milan behind him, an apparently chronic set of fitness problems trailing him. He ended up as the leading goalscorer at the 2002 tournament, won that year’s Ballon D’Or, and after he joined Real Madrid from an angry Inter later in the summer, you could barely avoid seeing his beaming, toothy smile as his career resurrected.
World Cups can act as exhilarating medicine for a footballer’s professional lifespan, and with the qualification of Wales for a finals for the first time in 64 years comes a reminder of how national service contrasts with everyday form. The 2022 Welsh equivalent to Brazil’s Ronaldo of 2002 is easily identified: as the captain who broke the long Wales drought, Gareth Bale has added to his status as their chief figurehead.
Almost inevitably, it was from Bale’s free-kick, deflected, that Wales scored the goal against Ukraine in Sunday’s play-off final to clinch their place at Qatar. It was Bale’s two goals against Austria that won the semi-final, and Bale’s hat-trick, including a stoppage-time winner, that earned the three points in Belarus to help edge Wales into the play-off lane.
That’s six crucial interventions this season without which Wales would be counting up wearily to 66 years absent from World Cups.
Eight days before what Bale called “the final piece of the jigsaw” for his generation of Welsh footballers, he had added to his list of honours a fifth Champions League title with Real Madrid. But his contribution to Madrid’s achievement, sealed with victory in the final against Liverpool, is a very small piece indeed of his club’s 2021-22 Liga and European Cup double jigsaw.
Bale, whose nine years at Madrid ends this month with him relinquishing his place at the top of the club’s payroll, was on the field for seven minutes in the entire Champions League campaign. He started four matches in the Spanish league, three of them prior to September. He played just 290 minutes of his club’s 56 competitive games.
In the same period he was in action, across his country’s nine official fixtures, for 398 minutes. That imbalance led to Bale being pilloried in some Spanish media, called a "parasite" in one newspaper. The catchphrase ‘Wales, Golf, Madrid, In That Order’ has come to represent the player’s perceived priorities.
Bale would quietly point out that between his joining Madrid for what was then a world record fee in 2013 and coming off the bench to score two excellent goals for them in the 2018 Champions League final, a 3-1 win over Liverpool, he earned superstar billing at the Bernabeu and his overall legacy there is superb.
Injuries have hampered him in the last two seasons, as they did Brazil’s Ronaldo at Inter, where he played a full 90 minutes just twice in the club season ahead of his stellar 2002 World Cup. He, like Bale, was fiercely criticised by Italian media for prioritising his national and his own interests.
The difference is that Ronaldo played for a country accustomed to winning World Cups. He counted Rivaldo and Ronaldinho as Brazil teammates. Bale’s nearest peer for Wales is Aaron Ramsey, formerly of Arsenal, and perhaps his closest friend in the squad is goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, outstanding against Ukraine.
Lately they have, like Bale, been far more conspicuous for their country than their clubs. Ramsey, 31, whom Juventus - where he has one year left on his contract - are seeking to release, started a mere four matches for Glasgow Rangers in a six-month loan that began in January. Hennessey played only three times for his club, Burnley, in their relegation season.
Bale, 32, and Ramsey are now listening to offers for where to spend the next club season. They know their next employers - Championship Cardiff City are interested - will likely be of a lower calibre than Madrid or Juventus.
Over the coming months, Wales’s big-game heroes will be pacing themselves - expect some signs of Welsh fatigue in Wednesday's Nations League meeting with Holland - with the World Cup in mind. November 21, the opening group match against the USA, is the key date in Bale, Ramsey and Hennessey’s diaries.
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
RESULT
Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)
Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Results
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Ziyadd, Richard Mullen (jockey), Jean de Roualle (trainer).
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
Winner: Secret Advisor, Tadhg O’Shea, Charlie Appleby.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Plata O Plomo, Carlos Lopez, Susanne Berneklint.
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE