Paul Pogba has put Real Madrid, Barcelona and former club Juventus on red alert that he could be available for transfer this summer after telling reporters in Tokyo he was ready for "a new challenge somewhere else".
The Manchester United midfielder has been continually linked with a move away from Old Trafford this summer, with big-spending Real Madrid the frontrunners, according to British media, though Barcelona have been strongly linked in the past.
The chance to work with fellow Frenchman Zinedine Zidane at Real could be the deal clincher for the 26-year-old Pogba.
Pogba's time at United has coincided with some insipid performances on the pitch and organisational turmoil at the club, though 2018/19 was his most productive in terms of goals (16) while he also recorded 11 assists across competitions. He was also named in the PFA Team of the Year.
"For me I have been for three years in Manchester and have been doing great; some good moments and some bad moments, like everybody. Like everywhere else.
"After this season and everything that happened this season, with my season being my best season as well ... I think for me it could be a good time to have a new challenge somewhere else.
"I am thinking of this: to have a new challenge somewhere else."
Pogba's future at Old Trafford has been the subject of scrutiny for several months.
Pogba, who moved to United from Juventus for a then-world record transfer fee of £89.3 million (Dh414m) in August 2016, was involved in a long-running and very public feud with Jose Mourinho before the Portuguese was sacked in December.
Although his form initially picked up under Mourinho's replacement, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the club limped home to a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Premier League to miss out on Uefa Champions League football.
The prospect of another season playing outside Europe's elite club competition is said to have hastened Pogba's desire to quit the club, with reports that the player's agent, Mino Raiola, has already held talks with Real officials over a move to the Bernabeu.
Real are embarking on a summer outlay not seen since their Galactico days of the first decade of this century.
Eden Hazard became the club's record signing when he joined last week from Chelsea for around £90m with Luka Jovic (£54m), Eder Militao (£45m), Ferland Mendy (£43m) and Rodrygo (£40m) also moving to the Bernanbeu.
Pogba has a contact with United through to the summer of 2021 and it is unlikely the board would countenance any offers below £150m for the French World Cup winner, a figure that could be beyond even Real Madrid.
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
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
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.
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth