For a club whose money problems saw them lose their most talented players last year and were unable to sign some of their targeted replacements, Barcelona had a busy transfer window bringing new players in.
Four players: Dani Alves, Ferran Torres, Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were registered to play during the window, three of them attackers. A day after the window closed, the current board held a public meeting which was deeply critical of the financial management of the previous board and talked of the €159 million ($179m) they’ve cut from Barca’s annual wage bill, pointing out that the salaries had been higher than the club’s entire income.
Barca were never in the market to spend big — or squander as they’ve done in the recent past — but the new players were what new manager Xavi Hernandez, working with the sporting directors Jordi Cruyff and Mateu Alemany, wanted to improve a squad he felt was lacking on quality and experience.
Game after game this season, injury and covid-hit Barca have fielded callow sides and given debuts to teenagers. There’s undoubted youthful talent at the club and 17-year-old Gavi has come to the fore as 18-year-old Pedri did last term, but as Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller said after his side had outclassed the Catalans 3-0 both home and away: “Barca cannot cope with the intensity. Technically and tactically, they have it all. But at the highest level, they cannot match the intensity of the game.”
Xavi needed to strengthen to plug that obvious deficit with a mix of world-class talent, experience and home-grown talent that had been allowed to leave.
Barca may not pay the top wages as they did only two years ago — and the club has a chance of surviving because they don’t — when they had the highest wage bill in world football. There’s also no Champions League football this season and maybe even not next as the club are outside the top four, but Barça and the city of Barcelona remains a powerful draw for footballers.
Alves, 38, was a former club legend signed on a free, an ally for his former teammate Xavi in the dressing room. He didn’t need the money and accepted the lowest possible wage legally allowed; he just wanted to help the club where he’d won everything.
Torres, bought from Manchester City with €55m from money Barca lent, made his debut two weeks ago. The 22-year-old forward, who has been playing on the right, is one of the brightest prospects in Spanish football.
Traore, 26, signed from Wolves, grew up in the working class L’Hospitalet district which borders Camp Nou, rose through the Masia youth system to make his first team debut aged 17 before being sold to Aston Villa for €10m while still a teenager. After playing for Middlesbrough and then joining Wolves for £18m in 2018, he’s back on loan.
Aubameyang didn’t come through the youth system and was not a former player, but his family have long lived just outside Barcelona, where he also has a property. The 32-year-old fell out spectacularly with Arsenal who he’d joined for £55m four years ago and was stripped of his captaincy. Arsenal will save up to £27m in wages for a player who was not in their team and had 18 months left on his contract.
Barcelona need goals. They failed to score in four of their six Champions League group games and six La Liga teams have scored more than their 32 goals. Luuk de Jong, a striker brought in on the previous transfer deadline day when Antoine Griezmann departed, has been unfairly cast as a comedy figure lacking Barca quality, yet he’s been one of Xavi’s best players in the last month. Danish striker Martin Braithwaite has worked hard to get back from injury, but this is the club who fielded Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez up front together.
Barca’s finances remain pertinent. The club offered Ousmane Dembele a new contract, which he has yet to sign. Knowing he can leave for free at the end of the season, the club hoped to gain money from the sale and saving the wages of the talented, injury-prone, forward who cost more than €100m when he joined from Borussia Dortmund. When Dembele’s departure wasn’t going to happen after he rejected interest from a Premier League club, they asked him to take a pay cut, which he declined.
Out of the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, Barça’s aim for this season is to finish in the top four and win the Europa League final in Seville. They’ve not played a home game since December 18, but on Sunday host Atletico Madrid, who sit one place above them in La Liga. It’s a six pointer and one where fans will be keen to see how Barca’s new signings perform.
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
Scribe
Fatherland
Kele Okereke
(BMG)
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
More on animal trafficking
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
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
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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
