Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has reiterated that he wants Bruno Fernandes to remain at the club despite the midfielder being linked with a move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.
Media reports earlier this week suggested that Hilal have offered the United captain a mammoth £65 million-a-year salary in a bid to tempt him over to the kingdom next season.
Fernandes's double in last week's 3-0 Europa League semi-final first-leg victory at Athletic Club took his total in the competition to 27 goals, with only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (34) and Radamel Falcao (30) having scored more than the Portuguese international.
His 31 goal involvements in 32 knockout-stage appearances in the Europa League (19 goals, 12 assists), are the most of any player in the history of the competition since it was revamped in 2009.
In March, Fernandes became only the third player in Premier League history to register 25 goal contributions in three successive seasons across all competitions, along with Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland.
And after missing out on No 1 target Salah – who decided to sign a new deal at Premier League champions Liverpool – Hilal have money to spend with Fernandes among their top targets.
But Amorim had already made clear last month, when Fernandes was being linked with a switch to Real Madrid, that his captain was “not going anywhere” – and he struck a similarly defiant tone when asked about the Saudi links on Wednesday.
“It's easy to understand [his importance] not just because of the numbers but the way he plays and the things he has done in his five years here,” said Amorim ahead of Thursday's second leg against Athletic Club at Old Trafford.
“He is a top player and we need top players. He is a leader. He is the captain. So he is really important.
“It's normal that there are a lot of clubs who want a player like Bruno or [Alejandro] Garnacho, but we want to keep our best players. And Bruno is clearly one of the top players in the world.
United have one foot in the Europa League final after their impressive win in Bilbao which comes as a welcome relief in what has been a dismal Premier League campaign.
A much-changed Red Devils team was beaten at Brentford on Sunday when United found themselves 4-1 down before two late goals from Garnacho and Amad Diallo almost saw them grab an unlikely point.
The defeat leaves United 15th in the table with Amorim's side having now gone six games without a league win. And the Portuguese coach admits there is no room for complacency considering United's form.
“If you look at our team, you cannot say what is going to happen,” added Amorim.
“There are some teams in any league that can understand that a game is going to be like this and they can control the narrative. We cannot do that. So we need to face the game as one more game.
“I think we need to score to go to the next round. That is clearly how we are going to face the game.
“We will also have to suffer a little bit to go to the final and be better in the small details.”
Athletic Club were already going to need a miraculous comeback if they were to secure a spot in the final which is being held at their own San Mames Stadium on May 21.
But their task has been made even more unlikely after key players Nico Williams, Inaki Williams and Oihan Sancet were all ruled out of the second leg.
“For us, it doesn't matter,” said Amorim when asked about the Spanish side's absentees. “For us, it is the top team of Athletic Bilbao. I understand it is hard to play without key players. But for us, it doesn't matter.
“We need to go to the game – it's a final for us. So we need to go and try to win the game.
“If you look at our season, anything is possible. We have to understand that.
“One goal can change everything – the momentum of the game. One sending off can. You saw it one week ago. We are prepared to fight to win the game and not think about the result.
“Of course, that matters in the way we are going to do the things, but we are only thinking about winning the game tomorrow.”
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs
Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 180hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm at 3,00rpm
Transmission: 5-speed sequential auto
Price: From Dh139,995
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
RESULTS
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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.
