Barcelona are champions of Spain for the 24th time, while Real Madrid finished the strongest team under new manager Zinedine Zidane and were only a point behind their greatest rivals after 38 games.
Barcelona, who play Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final on Sunday, failed to retain the Uefa Champions League, but this remains a golden age for Spanish football and both Madrid giants will contest the Milan final next week.
• To see Andy Mitten's La Liga 2015/2016 Team of the Year, click on the arrows to view the next photo or just swipe on your mobile device.
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Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Atletico had by far the best defence in Spain and the goalkeeper who seamlessly replaced Thibaut Courtois is one reason why. The Slovenian, 23, conceded only 18 times to win the Zamora award for best goalkeeper. The next best defence was Barca’s which let in 29 goals. In Europe, Atletico would not have reached the final without their goalkeeper being on form.
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
Barca’s two most disappointing regulars were Daniel Alves at right-back and Adriano at left-back. Madrid swapped their right backs around, but Marcelo, 30, was first choice on the left. The Brazilian can surge forward, he’s aggressive and always energetic.
Jose Gimenez (Atletico)
The Uruguayan, 21, showed why he could become football’s best central defender in his 37 games for Atletico. With 25 Uruguay caps already to his name, the former Danubio player has improved significantly in his three years in Spain. Aggressive, fast and good in the air, he’s learning at the right place under Diego Simeone and alongside Diego Godin.
Diego Godin (Atletico)
Gimenez’s defensive partner for club and country, Godin, 30, is the best defender in Spain. He only scored one goal this season, but when he only made the bench at Levante for the penultimate game of the season, Atleti lost and with it were eliminated from the title race. Embodies the fight of Simeone’s side.
Javier Mascherano (Barcelona)
The former defensive midfielder should now be regarded as a fully-fledged centre-half, and it has been another impeccable season for the Argentine in his new position. What he may lack in height he more than makes up for anticipation, tenacity, and bravery. A crucial cog in the Barcelona winning machine.
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
Barca’s central spine of Javier Mascherano, Sergio Busquets and Iniesta all performed superbly this season, but the consistent Iniesta raised his game most when Barca needed it after an April wobble. Xavi was always going to be missed, but Iniesta stepped up to create and supply the front line who’d win the league.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Messi has changed. He’s still the best player in the world, but his passing has improved and he’s less obsessed with getting goals. With Neymar and Luis Suarez so effective at taking the pressure off him by occupying other defenders, Messi often drops deeper or move to either wing to influence play. Still a game changer.
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Madrid’s best non-goalscorer, the former Tottenham player passes the ball beautifully and helps creates the chances for Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema in front of him. As James Rodriguez and Isco have become more peripheral in Zidane’s Madrid, Modric and Toni Kroos have become key players in their heart. They’re still likely to recruit a holding midfielder to play behind them.
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico)
The best player outside of the big two, the 25-year-old Frenchman had the best season of his career as Atletico’s talisman. The top scorer in a team which focuses on defence and doesn’t boast the firepower of the better funded rivals Atletico have done so well to disrupt, Griezmann is versatile, prolific and consistent. Easily in the top ten players in the world, probably in the top five.
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
The first man to break the Messi-Ronaldo Pichichi duopoly for six years, the Uruguayan became only the third player (after the aforementioned pair) in Spanish football history to score 40 league goals in a season. The more aggressive, warrior like foil to Neymar and Messi, his lethal finishing makes him the best centre forward in the world.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid’s talisman scored more than 50 goals for his club for the sixth successive season and pushed Suarez on the league’s final day towards a Pichichi. Reports of his demise have been exaggerated for while Gareth Bale continues to improve, the Portuguese remains the main man at the Bernabeu.
Company%20Profile
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Dunki
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
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LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
General%20Classification
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The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
TV (UAE time);
OSN Sports: from 10am
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16 second leg
Paris Saint-Germain (1) v Borussia Dortmund (2)
Kick-off: Midnight, Thursday, March 12
Stadium: Parc des Princes
Live: On beIN Sports HD
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Qualifier A, Muscat
(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv)
Fixtures
Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final
UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
SPECS
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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
