Carlo Ancelotti, the Real Madrid manager, has refused to comment on the club’s reported interest in Luis Suarez but has confirmed rising star Alvaro Morata is set to leave the European champions this summer.
Madrid rejected an offer from Arsenal to take academy product Morata on loan last January, but Ancelotti has explained that the striker, who made just three league starts last season, is keen to find another club in pursuit of first team football.
“The player has decided to leave in search of more minutes and the club has agreed it,” the Italian coach said at the presentation of his new website.
In addition to Arsenal, Italian champions Juventus and Bundesliga side Wolfsburg are believed to be chasing Morata, but Real Madrid are keen to include a buy-back clause in any potential deal.
Ancelotti appeared to confirm this by saying: “If he gets the chance to play it will be good for him to have those opportunities for a year.”
And he conceded Madrid would search for a “young striker with the same profile as Morata” in the event the 21 year old ups sticks from the Spanish capital.
However, Ancelotti gave away few hints about Madrid’s interest in Liverpool striker Suarez.
“It is difficult to improve what we have in attack,” he said, in reference to Madrid’s front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, who scored a combined 101 goals in all competitions last season.
“Suarez is a fantastic player but it would be a lack of respect to talk about signings at this stage.”
Ancelotti added that club captain Iker Casillas will stay at Madrid next season despite playing second fiddle to Diego Lopez in league matches, and revealed that Madrid would not sign any players until the World Cup was over.
Angel Di Maria has insinuated that he expects to be sold this summer, but Ancelotti sought to reassure the Argentine midfielder that he is in his plans for next season.
“I think that Di Maria knows very well that everyone loves him,” he said.
“The coach, the club and the fans love him. I don’t think he has any doubt about that.”
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Atalanta v Juventus (6pm)
AC Milan v Napoli (9pm)
Torino v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Sunday
Bologna v Parma (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Lazio (6pm)
Roma v Brescia (6pm)
Verona v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Udinese (9pm)
Lecce v Cagliari (11.45pm)
Monday
SPAL v Genoa (11.45pm)
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
