Erling Braut Haaland had been on the radar of many of Europe's top clubs while at RB Salzburg before moving to Borussia Dortmund in January 2020. EPA
Erling Braut Haaland had been on the radar of many of Europe's top clubs while at RB Salzburg before moving to Borussia Dortmund in January 2020. EPA
Haaland has developed into one of Europe's most potent finishers, and has scored almost 50 goals in his first 50 games for Dortmund. EPA
Haaland has developed into one of Europe's most potent finishers, and has scored almost 50 goals in his first 50 games for Dortmund. EPA
Jude Bellingham, right, moved to Signal Iduna Park from English club Birmingham City in July 2020 age 17. AFP
Jude Bellingham, right, moved to Signal Iduna Park from English club Birmingham City in July 2020 age 17. AFP
Jude Bellingham made his debut for England in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on 12 November, 2020. AFP
Jude Bellingham made his debut for England in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on 12 November, 2020. AFP
Jadon Sancho, right, has developed into one of Europe's best attacking wide players since joining Dortmund from Manchester City in August 2017. Reuters
Jadon Sancho, right, has developed into one of Europe's best attacking wide players since joining Dortmund from Manchester City in August 2017. Reuters
Jadon Sancho, left, found first-team opportunities at Manchester City limited but is now a full England international. Reuters
Jadon Sancho, left, found first-team opportunities at Manchester City limited but is now a full England international. Reuters

Football

Pep Guardiola claims Borussia Dortmund spend huge sums on agent fees to bring in young talent

Manchester City host German club in Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday

Steve Luckings
Steve Luckings
Abu Dhabi

April 05, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola claims Champions League opponents Borussia Dortmund pay agents huge sums to secure Europe's best young talent.

German club Dortmund have recruited some of the continent's finest fledglings in recent seasons, including Norway star Erling Braut Haaland from RB Salzburg, English midfielder Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City while they also prised forward Jadon Sancho away from City.

Guardiola's comments come after Haaland's agent, Mino Raiola, met La Liga clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid last week to discuss a potential summer move for the 20 year old.

Ahead of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg, Guardiola said: "If any one person in the city of Manchester knows Borussia Dortmund, it's me. About the culture of that club, the way they play.

"I will not find one single player at Dortmund without quality.

"They spent a lot of money on young players and pay a lot of money to agents to bring these players there because they have an incredible quality."

Ranked: the world's most valuable young footballers

25) Rennes' Belgian forward Jeremy Doku is the 25th most valuable young player, according to CIES Football Observatory, at £27.5m (36.3m). AFP
25) Rennes' Belgian forward Jeremy Doku is the 25th most valuable young player, according to CIES Football Observatory, at £27.5m (36.3m). AFP
24) Sergino Dest of Barcelona, £27.8m. Getty
24) Sergino Dest of Barcelona, £27.8m. Getty
23) Pedri of Barcelona, £28.3m. Getty
23) Pedri of Barcelona, £28.3m. Getty
22) Moise Kean of Paris Saint-Germain, £31.2m. Getty
22) Moise Kean of Paris Saint-Germain, £31.2m. Getty
21) Wesley Fofana of Leicester City, £33.2m. Getty
21) Wesley Fofana of Leicester City, £33.2m. Getty
20) Pedro Neto of Wolverhampton Wanderers, £34.3m. Getty
20) Pedro Neto of Wolverhampton Wanderers, £34.3m. Getty
19) Ozan Kabak of Schalke, £35m. Getty
19) Ozan Kabak of Schalke, £35m. Getty
18) Manchester United's Brandon Williams, £36.4m. Getty
18) Manchester United's Brandon Williams, £36.4m. Getty
17) Monaco's French defender Benoit Badiashile, £40.2m. AFP
17) Monaco's French defender Benoit Badiashile, £40.2m. AFP
16) Lille's Canadian forward Jonathan David, £43.6m. AFP
16) Lille's Canadian forward Jonathan David, £43.6m. AFP
15) Jude Bellingham of Dortmund, £44.5m. Getty
15) Jude Bellingham of Dortmund, £44.5m. Getty
14) Chelsea's English midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi, £47.1m. AFP
14) Chelsea's English midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi, £47.1m. AFP
13) Villarreal's Japanese midfielder Takefusa Kubo, £48.4m. AFP
13) Villarreal's Japanese midfielder Takefusa Kubo, £48.4m. AFP
12) Vinicius Junior of Madrid, £58.5m. Getty
12) Vinicius Junior of Madrid, £58.5m. Getty
11) Eduardo Camavinga of Rennes, £61.5m. AFP
11) Eduardo Camavinga of Rennes, £61.5m. AFP
10) Rodrygo of Real Madrid, £69.9m. AFP
10) Rodrygo of Real Madrid, £69.9m. AFP
9) Manchester City's English midfielder Phil Foden, £70.3m. AFP
9) Manchester City's English midfielder Phil Foden, £70.3m. AFP
8) Juventus' Swedish forward Dejan Kulusevski, £75.1m. AFP
8) Juventus' Swedish forward Dejan Kulusevski, £75.1m. AFP
7) Arsenal's English striker Bukayo Saka, £95.8m. AFP
7) Arsenal's English striker Bukayo Saka, £95.8m. AFP
6) Ferran Torres of Manchester City, £106m. Getty
6) Ferran Torres of Manchester City, £106m. Getty
5) Mason Greenwood of Manchester United, £115.3m. Getty
5) Mason Greenwood of Manchester United, £115.3m. Getty
4) Erling Braut Haaland of Borussia Dortmund, £120.3m. Getty
4) Erling Braut Haaland of Borussia Dortmund, £120.3m. Getty
3) Barcelona's Ansu Fati, £122.7m. Getty
3) Barcelona's Ansu Fati, £122.7m. Getty
2) Jadon Sancho of Dortmund, £125.6m. Getty
2) Jadon Sancho of Dortmund, £125.6m. Getty
1) Bayern Munich's Canadian star Alphonso Davies is rated the most valuable young player in world football by the CIES Football Observatory, at £180.4 million ($243m). Getty
1) Bayern Munich's Canadian star Alphonso Davies is rated the most valuable young player in world football by the CIES Football Observatory, at £180.4 million ($243m). Getty

Haaland was linked with a move to City after Sergio Aguero announced he would leave the English club at the end of the season, but Guardiola has cooled speculation by saying they were unlikely to prioritise a new striker.

Guardiola's side lead the Premier League by 14 points and host Dortmund on Tuesday.

They are also due to face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals and play Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final later this month.

Mina Cup winners

Under 12 – Minerva Academy

Under 14 – Unam Pumas

Under 16 – Fursan Hispania

Under 18 – Madenat

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Pandemic Parenting
EPL's youngest
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Premier Futsal 2017 Finals

Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side

Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado

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The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

Brief scores:

England: 290 & 346

Sri Lanka: 336 & 243

Top financial tips for graduates

Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:

1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.

2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.

3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.

4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDirect%20Debit%20System%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sept%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20with%20a%20subsidiary%20in%20the%20UK%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elaine%20Jones%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jumanji: The Next Level

Director: Jake Kasdan

Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas 

Two out of five stars 

MATCH INFO

Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')

Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')

Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)

MATCH INFO

Borussia Dortmund 0

Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')

Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

Results

2.15pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m

Winner: Hello, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihi (trainer).

2.45pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m

Winner: Right Flank, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

3.15pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,000m

Winner: Leading Spirit, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

3.45pm: Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 Dh575,000 1,600m

Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,400m

Winner: Ode To Autumn, Patrick Cosgrave, Satish Seemar.

4.45pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh125,000 1,200m

Winner: Last Surprise, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.

5.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,200m

Winner: Daltrey, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihi.

UKChampions LeagueBorussia DortmundManchester City