It’s a storyline with echoes: a brilliant Argentinian, the heart and soul of his club, drops a bombshell. His relationship with the management has deteriorated so far, he says, he feels he must leave. It seems unimaginable. For other clubs, he looks like a wonderful opportunity.
No, this is not the tale of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, which is an ongoing story of rancour with the boardroom and, at this stage, a temporary truce, with the player still dazzling on the pitch. This story is of a rift that led to one of the more significant moves of a quiet January transfer window – Papu Gomez's transfer from Atalanta to Sevilla.
Gomez, 32, is not Messi. Indeed, were it not for Messi owning Argentina’s number 10 jersey for the best part of 15 years, Papu might have won more than his mere five international caps.
On his day, the impish Papu is one of the game’s genuinely magical playmakers. Since 2014 he has been inspiring Atalanta, driving the Italian club’s rise from lower-half-of-the-table Serie A to breath-of-fresh-air in Europe.
He wore the captain’s armband as Atalanta came within minutes of a semi-final in the Champions League last August, in their first ever adventure in the competition.
But as they wrapped up the group phase of their second Champions League campaign, back in December, a schism emerged, with skipper Papu – he is usually known by his nickname – on one side, and head coach Gian Piero Gasperini on the other.
There were tactical disagreements. They developed into angry confrontations. Papu saw an exit as the only solution. He is not Messi, but, like Messi, he had high status at his club, and felt it had been diminished.
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Barcelona ratings v Real Betis
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There were several suitors, but Sevilla, masters of recruitment, know a gift when they see one in the market and how to persuade a footballer to join them.
They had snapped up 32-year-old Ivan Rakitic, in the previous transfer window when Barcelona wanted the Croatian off their wage-bill; top scorer Youssef En-Nesyri came in the window before that.
The club’s series of Europa League titles are the yield of their agility in the marketplace. Buying Papu looks outstanding business: they paid Atalanta an initial €6m.
Fortune has smiled on him in Spain already. He made his Liga debut at the weekend, in an ill-tempered 3-0 win over Getafe and thanks to a deflection, scored his first Sevilla goal.
He had come on for Lucas Ocampos, injured and now absent for some weeks. Papu now looks forward to a run in the starting XI, and, by the end of the match on Wednesday, perhaps the glimpse of a major trophy. Sevilla host Messi’s Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Messi also came off the bench at the weekend, and, in a storyline told hundreds of times, he inspired Barcelona back from the brink. He had been left out of head coach Ronald Koeman’s starting line-up with the imminent Cup semi-final in mind.
His absence simply reminded how indispensable is Barca’s captain, record-breaker and restless superhero. Messi came on with Betis 1-0 up. Two minutes later, he equalised. Nine minutes after that, a uniquely visionary Messi through-ball put Barcelona ahead. Via a stumble, they won 3-2.
It kept Barcelona in second, now with one defeat from their last 16 matches across competitions. Sevilla are fourth, with a single loss in 17. Whoever progresses over the two legs of the Cup – they meet in Catalonia on March 3 – will likely go into the final, against Athletic Bilbao or Levante, as favourites.
It is a priority competition for Koeman. “The quickest route to a trophy is a Cup,” said Koeman, who feels acutely that a trophy is needed at Barcelona after no silverware last season those clear signals from Messi, who asked to quit last summer, that the club’s symptoms of decline are pushing him towards the exit when his contract expires in June.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
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
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Dubai World Cup prize money
Group 1 (Purebred Arabian) 2000m Dubai Kahayla Classic - $750,000
Group 2 1,600m(Dirt) Godolphin Mile - $750,000
Group 2 3,200m (Turf) Dubai Gold Cup – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Turf) Al Quoz Sprint – $1,000,000
Group 2 1,900m(Dirt) UAE Derby – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Dirt) Dubai Golden Shaheen – $1,500,000
Group 1 1,800m (Turf) Dubai Turf – $4,000,000
Group 1 2,410m (Turf) Dubai Sheema Classic – $5,000,000
Group 1 2,000m (Dirt) Dubai World Cup– $12,000,000
More from Neighbourhood Watch
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
Results
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,000m; Winner: Dhafra, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Al Ajayib, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
4pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Ashtr, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Majed Al Jahouri
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Falcon Claws, Szczepan Mazur, Doug Watson
5pm: Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Al Mufham SB, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Badar Al Hajri
5.30pm: Sharjah Marathon – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,700m; Winner: Asraa Min Al Talqa, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Results
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: RB Kings Bay, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: AF Ensito, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: AF Sourouh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
8.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Baaher, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
9pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Mootahady, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
9.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Dubai Canal, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
10pm: Al Ain Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Harrab, Bernardo Pinheiro, Majed Al Jahouri
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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