Theo Hernandez has completed a move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, ending his six-year spell in Italy with AC Milan.
The 27-year-old French international is ready to start a new chapter in Riyadh after agreeing a three-year deal following a reported €25 million switch.
Theo made 262 appearances for Milan which saw the dynamic left-back score 34 goals and provide 45 assists.
Often a polarising figure – with critics questioning his attitude while supporters point to his blistering pace and brilliance on the ball – there can be no doubting his ability.
At Al Hilal, Theo will play for a familiar face in former Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi who only moved to the kingdom in June, ahead of the club's involvement in the revamped Fifa Club World Cup.
The pair will be joining forces having been foes for the last few seasons, regularly going head-to-head in the Derby della Madonnina at the San Siro.
Theo made his intentions clear to Milan’s management at the end of June: after initially rejecting Al Hilal’s advances, he was now open to the move.
It brings an end to a memorable chapter at Milan – six seasons that saw the team win a Serie A title and a Supercoppa with Theo being named in the Serie A Team of the Year four seasons in a row.
He was instrumental in the club’s 2022 Scudetto triumph, a force of nature on the left whose surging runs and telepathic understanding with Rafael Leao helped make him a hero with Rossoneri fans.
Theo is an attacking full-back with the swagger of a winger and the instincts of a forward but whose defensive skills have evolved over the years.
He has credited Stefano Pioli, the former Al Nassr coach who was in charge at Milan from 2019 to 2024, as being key to his development, even stepping in as an emergency centre-half on occasions under his watch.
But Theo's performances have waned over time culminating in his latest, most difficult season in Rossoneri colours – a campaign marked by inconsistency, frustration, and growing criticism.
Back in August, Theo came in for criticism over a perceived snub to then coach Paulo Fonseca after being left on the bench for the Serie A clash at Lazio.
With little over a 15 minutes to go, Milan players were gathered around Fonseca during a drinks break listening to instructions – everyone apart from Theo and fellow substitute Leao who convened instead on the far side of the pitch having just come on as substitutes.
“We had been on for two minutes, we didn’t need a cooling break. It was nothing against the team or the manager,” said Theo, while Fonseca insisted: “We don’t need to make problems where there aren’t any.”
Contract renewal talks collapsed after his salary demands were reportedly too high for Milan as questions about his attitude grew.
As leading Milan website SempreMilan noted, Theo is now remembered “more for his style than his football – his aesthetics over his athletics.”
The electric, bold figure Milan fans had grown to love had been replaced by a cautious player lacking in confidence.
Even France coach Didier Deschamps acknowledged the downturn in November. “Theo is an excellent player, even if this season he’s probably not on the same level as in the past,” he said. “He plays a lot, and it can happen.”
There were flashes of brilliance – like his sublime free-kick in Milan’s Supercoppa final comeback triumph over Inter in Riyadh – but they were overshadowed by moments of madness such as his red card during Milan's Uefa Champions League play-off defeat against Feyenoord.
This sending off, with the second yellow awarded for a blatant dive, was widely viewed as the tipping point in his relationship with the club.
Former Milan director Zvonimir Boban was scathing in his assessment: “It feels like he isn’t even trying.”
“Since the start of the season, we’ve seen a Theo who bears no resemblance to the player we once knew. He’s just idle,” the Croatian added.
Italian football journalist Nima Tavallaey Roodsari says his time at Milan has been “marked by soaring highs and painful lows” while also insisting he was one of the best players at the club over his spell.
“He’ll always be remembered for helping deliver the club’s 19th Scudetto, with his goal against Atalanta standing as a defining symbol of that title-winning run – alongside his fierce battles with Inter’s Denzel Dumfries,” said Roodsari.
The goal he referred to was Milan’s second in their 2–0 win over Atalanta – a strike that all but sealed their first Serie A title in 11 years. It was a stunning solo run, starting from the edge of his own box, with Theo in full flow. “But the lows were just as memorable, for all the wrong reasons,” Roodsari adds.
“The now-iconic image of him and Leao refusing to join the team during a cooling break under Fonseca, his costly red card against Feyenoord that ended Milan’s Champions League hopes, and, ultimately, the manner in which he leaves the club.”
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3E%0DJemma%20Eley%2C%20Maria%20Michailidou%2C%20Molly%20Fuller%2C%20Chloe%20Andrews%20(of%20Dubai%20College)%2C%20Eliza%20Petricola%2C%20Holly%20Guerin%2C%20Yasmin%20Craig%2C%20Caitlin%20Gowdy%20(Dubai%20English%20Speaking%20College)%2C%20Claire%20Janssen%2C%20Cristiana%20Morall%20(Jumeirah%20English%20Speaking%20School)%2C%20Tessa%20Mies%20(Jebel%20Ali%20School)%2C%20Mila%20Morgan%20(Cranleigh%20Abu%20Dhabi).%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
