Manchester United, the English Premier League champions, announced Tuesday that they have bought Belgium international midfielder Marouane Fellaini from Everton, with the Merseyside club putting the fee at £27.5 million (Dh157.1m).
The deal for the 25 year old was announced on the United website three hours after the close-season transfer window ended at 2am (UAE time).
"Manchester United is delighted to announce the signing of Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini from Everton," said the statement.
Manager David Moyes added: "I have worked with Marouane for five years and I'm delighted he has decided to join Manchester United. He is a player with great ability and strength and I think he will make a real difference to our squad."
Fellaini said he was "thrilled" with the move and that he "jumped at the chance" to renew his relationship with former Everton boss Moyes.
"I had a fantastic time at Everton and I'd like to thank all the fans and staff there for everything they have done for me," added the midfielder.
"But being a Manchester United player is something that every player dreams of and I believe that I can make a real contribution to the team's efforts to win trophies in the future."
Everton's website broke the news two hours before United's confirmation.
"Marouane Fellaini has moved to Manchester United for a £27.5 million fee," Everton said in a statement.
"Fellaini's exit ended a summer-long period of speculation after the Belgium international emerged as one of former Everton manager David Moyes' prime targets for his new club."
Moyes brought the Belgian to England from Standard Liege in 2008 during his time as Everton coach.
Fellaini becomes United's second close-season signing, after Uruguayan full-back Guillermo Varela joined from Penarol in June.
United were also reported to have submitted an offer to sign Portuguese left-back Fabio Coentrao from Real Madrid on a season-long loan.
However, a mooted move for Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera was reported to have collapsed.
Barry, Lukaku and McCarthy head to Everton
Everton made three last-gasp signings just before the transfer window closed on Monday, capturing Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry and Wigan Athletic playmaker James McCarthy.
Belgian international Lukaku and former England player Barry agreed season-long loan deals while McCarthy was a permanent signing for a fee of £13m, the English Premier League club said on their website.
McCarthy, 22, played under Everton manager Roberto Martinez when the Spaniard was in charge of Wigan.
Lukaku, 20, spent last season on loan at West Bromwich Albion. He went back to Chelsea at the end of the campaign and has featured as a substitute in two of their three league games this season.
He also suffered the anguish of being the only player to miss a spot-kick when the Europa League holders were beaten 5-4 by Champions League winners Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout in Friday's UEFA Super Cup clash in Prague.
Lukaku was the sixth highest scorer in the Premier League last season with 17 goals for West Brom.
Ozil to leave Real Madrid for Arsenal
Arsenal have agreed a deal with Real Madrid to sign Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil, Press Association Sport understands.
The 24-year-old Germany international is now set to discuss personal terms over the proposed transfer, believed to be a club-record bid of ?50 million, and then look to complete a medical ahead of the 11pm transfer deadline.
Before Sunday's 1-0 win over big-spending Tottenham Hotspur, Gunners manager Arsene Wenger had seen moves for Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Suarez and Yohan Cabaye all fail to come off, but it would now appear the Emirates Stadium club are close to finally landing a big-name signing.
Wenger's only summer purchases so far had been the free transfers of Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Flamini.
However, the Arsenal manager was confident the ?100 million switch of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid would set in place a "domino" effect, and thus allow the likes of Ozil to come onto the market at the 11th hour.
Arsenal - who have been linked with Ozil's Real Madrid teammates Karim Benzema and Angel di Maria and with a loan move for Chelsea striker Demba Ba - are also expected to bring in some goalkeeping cover, with a loan deal for Palermo stopper Emiliano Viviano.
Although Wenger may be sitting on a £70m warchest, he insists the club will not be held to ransom as the last-gasp shopping dash begins.
''I am not against spending. I am ready to pay what we can afford, even if it is a bit over the market (value) and as long as it is not crazy,'' he said.
Theo Walcott is confident the club will bring in reinforcements.
"It is well documented we have got a very small squad but the boss knows what he is doing, he is a very clever man and I am sure he has got something up his sleeve," said the England forward, who set up Olivier Giroud with a run and cross from the right wing on 23 minutes to score what proved to be the winner against Tottenham.
"We want to see players come in, definitely, but the quality is there and hopefully if we attract the odd players more players are going to come here.
"It is always quite difficult that it is always down to the last minute."
After a frustrating summer in the transfer market, Arsenal also completed the signing of goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano on a season-long loan from Italian club Palermo.
The Italy international goalkeeper Viviano, 27, completed his loan move before Monday night's transfer deadline and will compete with Wojciech Szczesny to be Wenger's first-choice keeper for the remainder of the season.
Wenger is believed to have had a long-standing interest in Viviano as he looks to create competition between the posts for Arsenal, with Lukasz Fabianski also available as an option.
Serie B club Palermo announced the deal with a short statement on the team website which read: "Goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano has been released to Arsenal on loan with the option to buy."
Chelsea also loans out Atsu
Vitesse Arnhem have taken Ghanaian international Christian Atsu on loan from Chelsea for the season, the Dutch club said on their website on Monday.
The 21-year-old winger, who played in January's African Nations Cup finals, completed his move to Chelsea from Porto on Sunday and was immediately sent to Vitesse to gain experience in the Netherlands.
Atsu, whom media reports said cost ?4 million, is the fifth player from Chelsea playing at Vitesse this season.
Cristian Cuevas and Lucas Piazon moved last month and Patrick van Aanholt and Gael Kakuta are spending a second season there on loan from the Premier League side.
Chelsea also sent teenage Croatian striker Stipe Perica to NAC Breda on loan for the season after his recent signing.
Kaka returns to AC Milan
Brazilian midfielder Kaka has completed a return to AC Milan on a two-year contract after the Serie A side agreed a deal with Real Madrid, the Italian club confirmed on Monday.
"Done deal", Milan's managing director Adriano Galliani announced on the club's website, with Milan adding that discussions ran until "between 0230 and 0300 CET in the morning [on Monday]".
According to the Italian press, Real allowed the 31 year old to return to his former club on a free transfer, having paid ?65 million (Dh315.6m) to bring Kaka to Madrid in 2009.
The Brazilian was also said to have taken a significant pay cut to facilitate his move to the San Siro, accepting an annual salary of ?4m plus bonuses, a considerable reduction from the ?10m a year he received in Madrid.
"I'm going home!", the player told journalists at a Madrid airport before boarding a flight to Milan, where he is expected to land shortly after Monday lunchtime.
"I'm very happy, the talks took a long time. I want to thank the fans and my teammates for their support," added Kaka.
Kaka's first spell at the Rossoneri, from 2003 to 2009, coincided with his rise to prominence that culminated in him winning the 2007 Ballon d'Or after leading Milan to the Champions League title that year.
Kaka, who has scored 29 goals in 87 appearances for his country, last week made a public plea to be able to leave the Spanish giants as he looks towards cementing a place in the Brazilian national side ahead of next year's World Cup.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri on Friday praised the Brazilian's attributes and said he had "faith" a deal could be struck for Kaka.
"Kaka would strengthen us. He's versatile, and his technical attributes would be a big plus to the team," said Allegri.
"We still have two and a half days till the end of the transfer window and the club is working on it. I have faith."
Milan's push to bolster their squad before Monday's transfer deadline comes days after they qualified for the group stages of the Champions League.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us
@SprtNationalUAE
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.”
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.0%20twin-turbo%20inline%20six-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E503hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E600Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3EElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%0D%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%0D%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%0D%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%0D%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%0D%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%0D%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%0D%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%E2%80%AF%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%E2%80%AF%0D%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%0D%3Cbr%3ENaomi%20Osaka%20(Japan)%20-%20wildcard%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20-%20wildcard%3Cbr%3EAlexandra%20Eala%20(Philippines)%20-%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
The specs
Engine: 2.2-litre, turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Power: 160hp
Torque: 385Nm
Price: Dh116,900
On sale: now
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
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
