"Michel [Salgado] was probably the most aggressive player I played with in my career," Steve McManaman, his former Real Madrid teammate, said. "You would say hello to him and he'd tell you where to go, but he always said it with a smile on his face. He was constantly fighting, barging and moaning in training, which is unusual because our training was very laid-back. He really got into it because he wanted to succeed. A top lad."
The aggression of the flaxen-haired Galician from close to Spain's border with Portugal is well-suited to England's Premier League. Now 35, he joined Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer in 2009 after a trophy-laden decade with Real Madrid where he won four Primera Liga titles and two Champions Leagues.
Salgado was the attacking right-back and Roberto Carlos, the Brazilian great, was on the left flank. Together, they provided dual ammunition to one of Europe's most forward-minded teams. Salgado became a Madrid institution, married to the president's daughter, and an important dressing-room figure.
Real had bought him in 1999 for €11 million (Dh53.1m) from the Galician side Celta Vigo, where, after making his debut as a 19-year-old in 1995, he established himself as one of Spain's best young full-backs.
"We played together in a fantastic side with Alexander Mostovoi, Valery Karpin, Claude Makelele and Mazinho (the Brazilian who rocked the baby in the 1994 World Cup finals)," said former teammate Jordi Cruyff, son of the Dutch legend Johan.
"Michel was excellent. I was on loan from Manchester United and when I went back, Sir Alex Ferguson got me in one day to talk about Celta. He knew that Celta were a great team and said, 'If you could take two players from Celta, who would it be?' I told him that Makelele was the best, but also recommended Salgado and Mostovoi, explaining that he was a little older. I was pleased that Sir Alex respected my football opinion. United did nothing, but Makelele and Salgado moved to Real that summer."
By the time he arrived in the Spanish capital, Salgado had won the first of 53 Spanish caps - his first being a forgettable defeat to Cyprus in the qualifiers for Euro 2000. He played in the 2000 European Championships, but injury kept him out of the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. He inflicted injuries on others; Salgado's tackle meant the diminutive Brazilian Juninho missed out on his country's 1998 World Cup team.
Alongside Spanish international contemporaries such as Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique, Salgado was to retire from international football in 2006 before Spain became European (2008) and World Champions (2010). Like Enrique, who was also born near Spain's Atlantic coast, Salgado loves to surf.
"I feel free as I wait in the middle of the sea," he said. "It seems the sea speaks to you in some way. While you wait for the best wave to arrive you enjoy yourself by relaxing as you lie on the board … Those of us who have been born close to the sea know this feeling."
Salgado's trophies would come in club football with Real.
"Michel, Makelele and [Ivan] Helguera were the unsung heroes in the team," said McManaman, who played alongside the other leading lights such as Luis Figo, Raul, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane. "The big names got the headlines, but the likes of Michel were hard, important and very consistent."
Salgado played more than 250 times for Real, where he was praised for his accurate crossing, boundless energy and attacking instinct. He saw less of the pitch from 2006 onwards as Sergio Ramos emerged, though he filled in when players were injured.
By 2009, Salgado was out of contract and available on a free transfer. Just as he had a forgettable debut for Spain, he would like to forget his final Real game; he was sent off as Real slumped (and Barcelona triumphed) at the end of the 2008/09 season. He received a rapturous send-off months later.
A move to England was a natural fit, Salgado being an Anglophile and one of the few Spanish players to speak English before playing outside of Spain, thanks to a language course in Margate when he was a teenager. Far from being peripheral at Ewood Park, no Blackburn player has started more games than Salgado so far this season.
"He had a slow start here and we weren't convinced he was going to be a success in England," a Blackburn source said. "He was a bit off pace but soon settled. He's now the keenest trainer at the club and the most competitive in five-a-side."
He has been as solid as Blackburn's Premier League status. While the surprise sacking of Sam Allardyce may have agitated Blackburn fans and players alike, it would take much more to unsettle the tough Galician.
sports@thenational.ae
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
ABU%20DHABI%20CARD
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
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.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The biogs
Name: Zinah Madi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and links
Nationality: Syrian
Family: Married, Mother of Tala, 18, Sharif, 14, Kareem, 2
Favourite Quote: “There is only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything.”
Name: Razan Nabulsi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and Links
Nationality: Jordanian
Family: Married, Mother of Yahya, 3.5
Favourite Quote: A Chinese proverb that says: “Be not afraid of moving slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”
UAE gold medallists:
Omar Al Suweidi (46kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (50kg), Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi (60kg), Omar Al Fadhli (62kg), Mohammed Ali Al Suweidi (66kg), Omar Ahmed Al Hosani (73), all in the U18’s, and Khalid Eskandar Al Blooshi (56kg) in the U21s.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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