Marcus Berg is set to join Al Ain from Panathinaikos. Aris Mesinis / AFP
Marcus Berg is set to join Al Ain from Panathinaikos. Aris Mesinis / AFP
Marcus Berg is set to join Al Ain from Panathinaikos. Aris Mesinis / AFP
Marcus Berg is set to join Al Ain from Panathinaikos. Aris Mesinis / AFP

Al Ain closing in on acquisition of Marcus Berg


John McAuley
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Marcus Berg looks set to finally complete his transfer from Panathinaikos to Al Ain for €3 million (Dh12.3m).

The Sweden striker, 30, had agreed last week to move to the Arabian Gulf League side and visited the Garden City to discuss his financial package and accommodation, although the two clubs could not agree on a fee. Al Ain had originally wanted to pay €2.5m for Berg, but Panathinaikos demanded closer to the €5m release clause in the player’s contract, which runs until June 2019.

However, a member of the Greek side’s board will travel to Al Ain on Tuesday - Berg’s agent is believed to also be in attendance - to iron out any differences between the clubs, clearing the way for the transfer to be finalised. Berg is expected to sign a three-year deal with Al Ain.

A prominent Swedish international, the frontman has been prolific for Panathinaikos since joining from Germany’s Hamburg in 2013, scoring 73 goals in 116 league matches. He top-scored in the 2016/17 Greek Super League’s regular season, finding the net 22 times in 28 games.

Berg, who began his professional career with IFK Gothenburg and also represented briefly PSV Eidhoven in Holland, is a regular for his national team and was part of the side that defeated France in their World Cup qualifier on June 9. In all, he has featured 47 times for his country, scoring 12 goals.

Al Ain, Asian Champions League runners-up last year, have already recruited Japanese midfielder Tsukasa Shiotani as they seek to conclude their transfer business early. They play Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in the Champions League quarter-finals later this summer, with the first leg taking place on August 21.

Al Ain remain in the market for one more foreign player, with Al Nassr defender Bruno Uvini linked strongly. Zoran Mamic, the Al Ain manager, knows the player well from his time in charge of the Saudi side last year.

It remains to be seen if Al Ain will choose to bolster their attack instead, though, since Colombian winger Danilo Asprilla is allowed to leave. Turkey and China have been touted as possible destinations.

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