Lionel Messi will be unveiled as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Wednesday after agreeing a two-year deal with the French club.
The 34-year-old Argentine was greeted by thousands of supporters at Le Bourget Airport in Paris on Tuesday after flying over from Spain with his father and agent Jorge to complete a medical. When asked by reporters whether his son would be joining PSG, Jorge answered “yes".
A news conference will take place at the Parc des Princes stadium on Wednesday at 11am (1pm UAE time) and the six-time Ballon d'Or winner will be officially announced as PSG's superstar new signing — barring any last-minute glitch with the medical.
He will have the option of a further season in France and is expected to earn £25 million ($34.6m) per year after tax, plus bonuses, as well receiving a £25m signing-on fee.
Messi has left Barcelona after being told by the Spanish club that they could no longer afford his wages — even after agreeing to take a 50 per cent pay cut — due to La Liga's financial fair play rules.
He is both Barca’s record goalscorer and top appearance maker of all time, with 672 goals from 778 matches, winning four Champions Leagues and 10 La Liga titles along the way — and 35 trophies in total. Messi scored 474 goals in La Liga, including 36 hat-tricks, and has notched 123 times in European competitions.
At a tearful press conference on Sunday, Messi admitted that he had no choice but to leave the club he joined at the age of 13. “I wanted to stay. I did everything I could,” he said. “This year, my family and I were convinced we were going to stay at home, that's what we all wanted more than anything.
“There have been so many beautiful moments here, and a few bad ones, painful defeats. But the affection I have felt from the people, the supporters here, has always been the same.
“We'd always made this our own, we were at home. We thought we would be staying here in Barcelona. But today, we have to say goodbye to all of this.”
But his trophy-laden spell with the Catalan giants is over and he will join his former Barca teammate Neymar at PSG and is set to form a fearsome three-pronged attack alongside another superstar striker in France international Kylian Mbappe.
Neymar welcomed Messi to Paris and posted a video of the pair together with the caption “back together” on Instagram. The pair won two La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys and the Champions League during their time together at Barcelona.
PSG have already signed Inter Milan right-back Achraf Hakimi for €60m ($71m), as well as bringing in several big-name players who were out of contract in Spanish defender Sergio Ramos, Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum and Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
In August 2017, PSG made Neymar and Mbappe the two most expensive signings in history. Now they have Messi. “Every coach in the world would like to have the best player in the world in their team,” admitted manager and countryman Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino has at his disposal a squad capable of ruling Europe, with the team's 2020 Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich the closest they have come to achieving the dream of their Qatari owners.
A team that was beaten to the Ligue 1 title by Lille last season but who in the previous two seasons reached a Champions League final and semi-final, now appear well set to land a first European Cup.
It is over to Pochettino to accommodate them all, and the likes of Angel di Maria, and find the right balance to take the team to the pinnacle of world football.
Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
- 1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
- 2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
- 3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
- 4th ODI, Sunday, April 16
Squads:
- UAE: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
- Zimbabwe: Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
Scoreline:
Manchester City 1
Jesus 4'
Brighton 0
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
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