The first reaction really ought to be one of sympathy for Bundesliga right-backs. The prospect of facing the turbo-charged left-sided pair of Alphonso Davies and Leroy Sane could prompt a sudden rush of suspicious injuries among defenders who spot Bayern Munich on the fixture list.
Sane’s impending transfer ranks among the least surprising of the summer, with the German champions renewing their interest a year after trying to sign him, and the most ominous.
Not merely for Bundesliga sides, either: Sane represents an upgrade on the borrowed pair of Ivan Perisic and Philippe Coutinho.
Now, along with Serge Gnabry, Bayern have two wingers capable of getting 20 goals. The transition from an older generation to a younger one has accelerated. They could be installed as early favourites for next season’s Champions League.
And yet Manchester City can reflect with some satisfaction on the deal they have struck. Selling Sane would have been more profitable last summer. In a pandemic economy, when he had a solitary year left on his contract and was determined to go, a fee rising to £55 million (Dh250.8m) represents good business.
“He wants to leave,” said manager Pep Guardiola, ahead of their Premier League game with newly-crowned champions Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday. “Everyone has his own life. I would love him to stay here but he decides to go because believes he will be happier.
"So I wish him all the best, give him a big, big thanks for these years together and wish him all the best for his new chapter at a fantastic club like Bayern Munich.”
The paradox is that, brilliant as Sane was for two years, Guardiola has said City do not necessarily need to buy to replace him.
In a sense, Sane’s cruciate ligament injury means they began life without him last August. These days, Raheem Sterling is seen largely as a left winger. Sane’s sidekick has become his successor.
City have evolved: from game-stretching width of players on their natural flanks, they now have inverted wingers, with the left-footers Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva cutting in from the right.
Mahrez has been the greatest beneficiary of Sane’s extended absence. His tallies of nine goals and eight assists in the Premier League put him on the brink of a Sane-esque feat.
Because while City have moved on, that should not detract from how devastatingly good Sane was in their two title-winning seasons.
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Bayern crowned Bundesliga champions
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Pace brings a visceral excitement but the German’s was allied with productivity. He did the double double: he was in double figures for Premier League goals and assists in both campaigns. Indeed, only Kevin de Bruyne created more goals in 2017-18.
Sterling’s transformation into a prolific scorer meant Sane tended to get second billing in City’s ‘SAS’, but they were catalysts in the emergence of the Premier League’s first centurions.
Sane’s first few months in Manchester were underwhelming, but it was fitting his first goal, in December 2016, came against Arsenal.
He was to prove a big-game player and Liverpool, who he tended to trouble, could be forgiven for feeling pleased he is going. The German’s goal against them in January 2019 ultimately proved the title decider. And yet, by then, there was the sense things were changing.
There was a spell in 2017-18 when City won 20 of the 21 games Sterling and Sane both started. They lost four of the last nine league matches they began together.
Unlike Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Gundogan, Sane never felt one of Guardiola’s disciples.
Certainly Joachim Low seemed to question his attitude when omitting him from Germany’s 2018 World Cup squad, a decision that proved to be a mistake. But a single-minded Sane has pursued his own path, spurning City’s offers of a new deal, and that route leads to Munich.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
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
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Asian Cup 2019
Quarter-final
UAE v Australia, Friday, 8pm, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
About%20My%20Father
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELaura%20Terruso%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERobert%20De%20Niro%2C%20Sebastian%20Maniscalco%2C%20Kim%20Cattrall%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
