Craig Bellamy's eventful season-long loan move to the Championship side Cardiff City was confirmed by Manchester City yesterday, putting an end to a pre-season 31-year-old Wales striker's threat to quit the game altogether.
The writing has been on the wall for Bellamy at City since manager Roberto Mancini announced that he would not be in his 25-man Premier League squad. The Welshman claimed he had not spoken to his Italian coach for six months.
"I feel strongly that I can offer something at the club," Bellamy had said before Mancini's decision. "But if I don't get in the 25-man squad, I don't know what I will do. I might finish, full stop, or look at every option I get."
However, the Wales captain, 31, agreed to drop down a division and sign for his home town club.
An earlier sticking point to the deal was Bellamy's reported £90,000-a-week (Dh522,000) wages. Dave Jones, the Cardiff manager, admitted on Saturday that the club would not be able to afford the striker's full salary, but it is likely the two clubs agreed a compromise which will see City pay a significant part of Bellamy's wages, reportedly around £70,000.
Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and Fulham were all linked with Bellamy but it is understood City did not want the striker joining one of their Premier League rivals.
Bellamy told yesterday's press conference that he had no hard feelings towards Mancini.
"Nothing's difficult about this," he said. "I had the greatest time at Manchester City at a great period in their history. The next couple of years I'm sure they'll get the Premier League title, and I hope they do."
Bellamy refused to comment on reports City would not allow him to join a rival Premier League club but praised Mancini.
"There's no ill feeling," added the 31-year-old. "I hope he does well, he's a top manager."
The move represents a major coup for Cardiff, who missed out on promotion to the Premier League last season after they were beaten in last season's Championship play-off final by Blackpool.
Bellamy explained the chance to spend more time with his family was his primary motivation for joining Cardiff, and he does not expect to have it easy in the second tier.
"My wide and kids live here and I've spent the last six years travelling up and down the road," he said. "I left home at 15. I've always wanted to come back but I wanted to come back at the top of my game."
* Press Association
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
2021 World Triathlon Championship Series
May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China
