Theo Hernandez has completed a move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, ending his six-year spell in Italy with AC Milan.
The 27-year-old French international is ready to start a new chapter in Riyadh after agreeing a three-year deal following a reported €25 million switch.
Theo made 262 appearances for Milan which saw the dynamic left-back score 34 goals and provide 45 assists.
Often a polarising figure – with critics questioning his attitude while supporters point to his blistering pace and brilliance on the ball – there can be no doubting his ability.
At Al Hilal, Theo will play for a familiar face in former Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi who only moved to the kingdom in June, ahead of the club's involvement in the revamped Fifa Club World Cup.
The pair will be joining forces having been foes for the last few seasons, regularly going head-to-head in the Derby della Madonnina at the San Siro.
Theo made his intentions clear to Milan’s management at the end of June: after initially rejecting Al Hilal’s advances, he was now open to the move.
It brings an end to a memorable chapter at Milan – six seasons that saw the team win a Serie A title and a Supercoppa with Theo being named in the Serie A Team of the Year four seasons in a row.
He was instrumental in the club’s 2022 Scudetto triumph, a force of nature on the left whose surging runs and telepathic understanding with Rafael Leao helped make him a hero with Rossoneri fans.
Theo is an attacking full-back with the swagger of a winger and the instincts of a forward but whose defensive skills have evolved over the years.
He has credited Stefano Pioli, the former Al Nassr coach who was in charge at Milan from 2019 to 2024, as being key to his development, even stepping in as an emergency centre-half on occasions under his watch.
But Theo's performances have waned over time culminating in his latest, most difficult season in Rossoneri colours – a campaign marked by inconsistency, frustration, and growing criticism.
Back in August, Theo came in for criticism over a perceived snub to then coach Paulo Fonseca after being left on the bench for the Serie A clash at Lazio.
With little over a 15 minutes to go, Milan players were gathered around Fonseca during a drinks break listening to instructions – everyone apart from Theo and fellow substitute Leao who convened instead on the far side of the pitch having just come on as substitutes.
“We had been on for two minutes, we didn’t need a cooling break. It was nothing against the team or the manager,” said Theo, while Fonseca insisted: “We don’t need to make problems where there aren’t any.”
Contract renewal talks collapsed after his salary demands were reportedly too high for Milan as questions about his attitude grew.
As leading Milan website SempreMilan noted, Theo is now remembered “more for his style than his football – his aesthetics over his athletics.”
The electric, bold figure Milan fans had grown to love had been replaced by a cautious player lacking in confidence.
Even France coach Didier Deschamps acknowledged the downturn in November. “Theo is an excellent player, even if this season he’s probably not on the same level as in the past,” he said. “He plays a lot, and it can happen.”
There were flashes of brilliance – like his sublime free-kick in Milan’s Supercoppa final comeback triumph over Inter in Riyadh – but they were overshadowed by moments of madness such as his red card during Milan's Uefa Champions League play-off defeat against Feyenoord.
This sending off, with the second yellow awarded for a blatant dive, was widely viewed as the tipping point in his relationship with the club.
Former Milan director Zvonimir Boban was scathing in his assessment: “It feels like he isn’t even trying.”
“Since the start of the season, we’ve seen a Theo who bears no resemblance to the player we once knew. He’s just idle,” the Croatian added.
Italian football journalist Nima Tavallaey Roodsari says his time at Milan has been “marked by soaring highs and painful lows” while also insisting he was one of the best players at the club over his spell.
“He’ll always be remembered for helping deliver the club’s 19th Scudetto, with his goal against Atalanta standing as a defining symbol of that title-winning run – alongside his fierce battles with Inter’s Denzel Dumfries,” said Roodsari.
The goal he referred to was Milan’s second in their 2–0 win over Atalanta – a strike that all but sealed their first Serie A title in 11 years. It was a stunning solo run, starting from the edge of his own box, with Theo in full flow. “But the lows were just as memorable, for all the wrong reasons,” Roodsari adds.
“The now-iconic image of him and Leao refusing to join the team during a cooling break under Fonseca, his costly red card against Feyenoord that ended Milan’s Champions League hopes, and, ultimately, the manner in which he leaves the club.”
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
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%3Cp%3EEncourage%20innovation%20in%20the%20metaverse%20field%20and%20boost%20economic%20contribution%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20outstanding%20talents%20through%20education%20and%20training%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20applications%20and%20the%20way%20they%20are%20used%20in%20Dubai's%20government%20institutions%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAdopt%2C%20expand%20and%20promote%20secure%20platforms%20globally%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20the%20infrastructure%20and%20regulations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: from Dh321,200
On sale: now
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Jawan
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MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
More on animal trafficking
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm
Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
SPECS
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
