Jude Bellingham described Real Madrid's Champions League triumph over former club Borussia Dortmund on Saturday as "the best night of my life" as the midfielder concluded a remarkably successful debut season in Spain.
Bellingham, recruited from Dortmund last summer for an initial €103 million, has set the football world alight during his first campaign at Real Madrid and played a pivotal role in their 2-0 victory at Wembley Stadium. The England midfielder assisted Vinicius Junior for the second goal in the 83rd minute after Dani Carvajal broke the deadlock nine minutes earlier.
In helping Real Madrid win their record-extending 15th European Cup, Bellingham has completed a club season that also saw the 20-year-old named La Liga Player of the Year; his 19 league goals – including a brace and late winner at rivals Barcelona – were vital to Real's title-winning campaign.
In his first Champions League final on Saturday, Bellingham received a standing ovation from the Spanish team's fans when he was subbed off late in the game at Wembley. They serenaded him with a version of “Hey Jude", and he is fast becoming the face of the team even as reports indicate France star Kylian Mbappe is on his way to the Bernabeu next season.
"I can’t have dreamed it much better than this,” Bellingham told TNT Sports on the field moments after the final whistle.
He credited veterans Luka Modric and Toni Kroos — multiple Champions League winners — with giving him a boost of confidence. For Kroos, it was the final club game of his illustrious career and a fitting farewell to a modern giant of the game.
“They were a big part of my feeling before the game to be fair,” Bellingham said. “When I was alone in my room I was thinking to myself and not as confident but you come down to dinner and they are playing cards, chatting, looking relaxed. Then you start to feel relaxed and settle into it.
"Champions of Europe, can’t get any better than that. They always said to me to enjoy the first one.”
Real will retain the same 'desire' - Ancelotti
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said his team would be back for more silverware with the same hunger next season.
"Here there's no danger of our stomachs being too full... tomorrow this club will enjoy another fantastic day with our fans, then to rest, the players will go to the Euros, the Copa America, then we will return with the same desire and hope as ever," Ancelotti said.
The Italian lifted the trophy for a record-extending fifth time as a manager and his players jubilantly tossed him into the air during the celebrations.
"This competition gave me fantastic happiness, as a player, as a manager," said Ancelotti, who turns 65 on June 10. "My target is to try to repeat the same emotion that we (have) the week after this game, this is the target. I have the luck to be at the best club in the world."
Ancelotti rated the team's performance this season as "10 out of 10" after severe injuries to several key players including David Alaba, Eder Militao and Thibaut Courtois, the latter of whom started the final.
Madrid, who completed a La Liga and Champions League double for the fifth time in their history, are Spain's dominant force.
That advantage may be further increased by the signing of Mbappe at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain deal, a move expected to be announced in the coming days. Madrid will lose German midfield metronome Kroos, retiring from football after Euro 2024.
"What will happen now? Something will happen. We lost an important player, we will have other players to take over," said Ancelotti. "As we have always done, we adapt to the characteristics of the players that we have, to be competitive."
Dortmund had 'fantastic journey' - Terzic
Borussia Dortmund paid the ultimate price for failing to take their chances against an incredible Real Madrid side, the Bundesliga club's coach Edin Terzic said.
"We didn't show the efficiency to score," a downcast Terzic told reporters. "This is something we have to learn from."
Dortmund, who finished fifth in the Bundesliga this season, reached their first Champions League final since 2013 when Wembley also hosted their defeat by Bayern Munich. They gave their all on the night, as did their supporters.
"I am proud, that is the first thought, a proud moment," Terzic said. "We brought nearly 100,000 people to London and everybody had the belief we could make it. It was a fantastic journey this year in the Champions League - a great campaign - but to be honest it is a little empty inside. It was a great opportunity to win it and we unfortunately didn't make it."
Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke could not hide his disappointment.
"We did it well, should have taken the lead in the first half but then we got a bit tired and they were ice cold how they scored," he said.
"We knew what we can do. We are happy to have been here but when you dominate the game and have these chances and then lose then it is very disappointing."
Dortmund defender Mats Hummels agreed.
"We had four chances and we should have scored one of them. We had so many chances and you just have to score," he said.
"At the end of the day we should have defended a little better with their goals. But there is no one to blame for that. We played a good game."
Terzic tried to stay positive for the Dortmund fans.
"Thank you for your belief, don’t let the doubt take over," he said. "We’re going to bounce back, we’re going to learn from this.
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESplintr%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMay%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammad%20AlMheiri%20and%20Badr%20AlBadr%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20and%20Riyadh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epayments%20%2F%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10%20employees%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%20seven-figure%20sum%20%2F%20pre-seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eangel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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3.
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Profile of VoucherSkout
Date of launch: November 2016
Founder: David Tobias
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers
Sector: Technology
Size: 18 employees
Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake
Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars”
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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
PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
