Manchester United officially released Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Friday, with the injured Swedish striker’s name appearing on a list published by the Premier League.
The 35-year-old joined United on a year-long contract before the 2016/17 campaign and was vital to their League Cup and Europa League triumphs, scoring 28 goals in 46 appearances before sustaining a season-ending knee injury in April.
Ibrahimovic was the only player on United’s release list.
Spalletti in at Inter Milan
Luciano Spalletti became Inter Milan’s 10th manager in the past seven years when he was named on Friday and handed the task of restoring the club to their former greatness.
The 58-year-old’s appointment had been widely expected after he confirmed on Tuesday that he had agreed terms to take over the team who employed three coaches this season on their way to finishing seventh in Serie A.
“FC Internazionale is delighted to announce that Luciano Spalletti has been appointed as head coach of the first team,” the Chinese-owned club said in a statement.
Kane keen to follow in Ronaldo’s footsteps
Harry Kane has dreams of holding aloft the Ballon d’Or trophy like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but the Tottenham Hotspur striker knows his club must start collecting silverware if he is to have any chance of such individual success.
Ronaldo is on course to win his fifth Ballon d’Or after helping Real Madrid to Primera Liga and Uefa Champions League success and Kane, 23, said the Portuguese forward was a great role model.
“Who wouldn’t want to win that big gold trophy? It’s definitely something I aspire to do,” Kane told reporters when asked about the Ballon d’Or.
“Doing that, you have to win the big tournaments, for club and country. Ronaldo won the Euros and the Champions League ... Messi’s in a similar situation.
“To do that, it isn’t just individual, I think it’s part of a team thing as well, winning team trophies. That’s hopefully what we can do at Tottenham.”
Sagnol returns to Bayern Munich
Former France defender Willy Sagnol has been named as Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant manager at Bayern Munich.
Sagnol, who won five Bundesliga titles and the Uefa Champions League during a nine-year spell with Bayern as a player, has signed a two-year contract.
Sagnol, who won 58 caps as a right-back for France, told the Bayern website: “That Carlo Ancelotti, one of the best and most experienced coaches in world football, has chosen me is a great honour for me. I am happy to be able to work in his team and at his side.
“I am happy that I can return to Munich with my family.”
Sagnol has previous coaching experience from a two-year spell in charge of Bordeaux from 2014-16.
Ancelotti said: “Having lost two of my assistants with Paul Clement leaving during the winter break [to become manager of Swansea] and Hermann Gerland leaving at the end of the season, I expressed to the board my wish that a new assistant coach be appointed.”
The club said Ancelotti wanted a former Bayern player who had coaching experience.
He added: “Willy Sagnol ticks both these boxes, and I’m very much looking forward to working with him.”
Mario Gomez to stay at Wolfsburg
Germany forward Mario Gomez will stay on at Wolfsburg despite their disappointing season where they managed to stay up only after winning a relegation play-off, the Bundesliga club said on Friday.
The 31-year-old scored 16 league goals in his first season at Wolfsburg but the big-spending club, German Cup winners in 2015, finished in 16th place and needed to beat second-tier Eintracht Braunschweig in the playoff.
“Despite the difficult season where we missed out on our targets, I have the full trust in our team, the club and the fans,” Gomez said in a club statement.
“So I decided to play on here next season. The entire environment here will also offer me the best possible preparation for the World Cup [in 2018],” he said with an eye on next year’s tournament in Russia.
Club officials praised the forward whose goals in the second half of the season under coach Andries Jonker largely kept them from being relegated.
“Mario Gomez showed with his goals this season that he is not only a top striker but also someone who took over a lot of responsibility within the team,” said sports director Olaf Rebbe.
“We are happy to be able to attack the next season together.”
Leverkusen appoint new manager
Bayer Leverkusen have appointed former Germany international Heiko Herrlich as their new manager after the departure of Tayfun Korkut at the end of the season, the club said on Friday.
Herrlich, 45, who played for Leverkusen from 1989 to 1993 and coached Jahn Regensburg to consecutive promotions from the regional division into the second Bundesliga in his two seasons in charge, received a deal to 2019.
“He is a very ambitious and focused coach who showed his skills not only at Regensburg,” Leverkusen sports director Rudi Voeller said.
“He favours an attractive and aggressive style of play which comes very close to our own concept.”
* Agencies
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GCC-UK%20Growth
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Al Montaqem, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m | Winner: Daber W’Rsan, Connor Beasley, Jaci Wickham
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m | Winner: Bainoona, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: AF Makerah, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 | Winner: AF Motaghatres, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,600m | Winner: Tafakhor, Ronan Whelan, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
Hamilton profile
Age 32
Country United Kingdom
Grands Prix entered 198
Pole positions 67
Wins 57
Podiums 110
Points 2,423
World Championships 3
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Fixtures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20April%203%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EArsenal%20v%20Luton%20Town%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EManchester%20City%20v%20Aston%20Villa%2C%2011.15pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EThursday%2C%20April%204%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELiverpool%20v%20Sheffield%20United%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Aquaman%20and%20the%20Lost%20Kingdom
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20James%20Wan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jason%20Mamoa%2C%20Patrick%20Wilson%2C%20Amber%20Heard%2C%20Yahya%20Abdul-Mateen%20II%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
