Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has described fellow Argentine Lautaro Martinez as an "impressive" and "complete" forward as media speculation continues to link the Inter Milan player with a move to the Spanish giants.
Martinez's agent, Sergio Zarate, last month claimed there was a "very big possibility" that his client would move to Barca this summer, with the Catalans holding the edge over other clubs due to his desire to play alongside Messi.
Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti quickly refuted Zarate's comments and insisted that the Serie A club are determined to retain Martinez, whom Zanetti said remains eager to stay at the club.
While refusing to get embroiled in the transfer saga, Messi did offer his thoughts on his international colleague, who has been one of the stars of the Serie A season, scoring 11 goals in 22 games before the campaign was halted due to the coronavirus outbreak.
"If I am honest I do not know very well if there were or are negotiations right now for him, I have no idea," Messi told Sport.
"Lautaro is an impressive striker, especially because I think he is a very complete player: he is strong, he dribbles well, he has [an eye for] goal, he knows how to protect the ball.
"But, well, we will have to see what happens finally with him and with other names that have been mentioned."
Messi and his Barcelona teammates have returned to individual training at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper after a two-month suspension as La Liga awaits confirmation for plans to resume the season on June 12.
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The long read: how player power and politics made for a perfect storm at Barcelona
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The coronavirus lockdown has been eventful for Barcelona, who have had six executives resign in protest and had senior players criticise the club.
First Messi hit out at board members for their handling of the salary reduction process, accusing executives of applying unnecessary pressure on the players, before Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic blamed the club for treating him like a "sack of potatoes".
However the future looks for Barca, Messi believes that the coronavirus pandemic and the financial implications of the lockdown are likely to affect the club's ambitions in the transfer market.
"On the subject of transfers, there are some people in the club who are in charge and should be the ones who choose what they think is best for the squad," Messi said.
"It is clear that in this current situation everything is going to be harder in the market as well and you have to be confident to be able to improve what we already have."
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Moonfall
Director: Rolan Emmerich
Stars: Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry
Rating: 3/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
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On sale: Now
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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EPL's youngest
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Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
THREE
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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 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Messi at the Copa America
2007 – lost 3-0 to Brazil in the final
2011 – lost to Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals
2015 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
2016 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
Company%20profile%20
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