Sebastian Tagliabue says he is disappointed to end “seven amazing years” with Al Wahda, with his priority now to find a new club in the UAE.
The Argentine-born striker, 35, has been told by Wahda that they will not be renewing his contract beyond its June 30 conclusion despite discussions regarding that earlier this season.
Having joined Wahda in 2013, Tagliabue has gone on to score 152 goals in 157 league appearances for the Abu Dhabi side. At present, he is 13 goals from the all-time record in the UAE top flight. The 2019/20 Arabian Gulf League is currently shut down because of the coronavirus.
Tagliabue, who lies second in this season’s charts with 15 goals in 19 matches, said he had expected to remain at Wahda following talks some time ago about an extension.
“Of course, I’m very sad, and my family’s very sad, because we have to move from Al Wahda,” Tagliabue said. “It’s my second home in football and also my family is very happy here.
“We’ve had seven amazing years. I feel Al Wahda is my family. It was a shock in the beginning when the club told me they didn’t want to give me a new contract, because I didn’t expect that. I thought we’d reach an agreement.
“For sure, I understand that one day I will leave, that I will not always be at Al Wahda. And I always said when the contract finishes we have to sit with the club to see if they want me and if I want to stay at the club. This is normal.
“I’m upset only in the way they handled my exit. For me, it’s not about money or other big things. A few days ago they told me to find a new club because they cannot pay me the offer they made me two or three months ago.
“So now I start to look for another club. But I don’t like what some people are starting to say ‘He wants too much money for his age’. It’s not about my age; it’s about what I deserve, or what I did on the pitch.”
Tagliabue, who was seeking a two-year extension with Wahda, will now begin to plot his next move. The forward has been approached tentatively by a number of clubs in the Arabian Gulf League, although as of now there has been no official offer.
He also refused to rule out a transfer outside the Emirates, but only for an attractive project.
"For my family and for my social life I would prefer to stay in Abu Dhabi, but there are a lot of good clubs in the UAE," said Tagliabue, who in January was granted UAE citizenship. "If we had to move to any club in the UAE it would be OK.
“I hope by the end of this season to have a new team. If in the next two weeks it would be amazing, because my contract with Al Wahda finishes at the end of June, so I’d like to have a club as soon as possible. We will see.”
Asked about his connection to Wahda, Tagliabue said he would not even rule out a return one day, saying: “From my side, I will never close the door to Al Wahda. Even if I have to leave now, I will say ‘See you soon’. Because maybe in the future I come back to the club, as a player or maybe as a coach. For Al Wahda, I will always open my door.”
%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fislamic-economy-consumer-spending-to-increase-45-to-3-2tn-by-2024-1.936583%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EGlobal%20Islamic%20economy%20to%20grow%203.1%25%20to%20touch%20%242.4%20trillion%20by%202024%3C%2Fa%3E%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fuk-economy-plunges-into-worst-ever-recession-after-record-20-4-contraction-1.1062560%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EUK%20economy%20plunges%20into%20worst-ever%20recession%20after%20record%2020.4%25%20contraction%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fislamic-economy-consumer-spending-to-increase-45-to-3-2tn-by-2024-1.936583%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EIslamic%20economy%20consumer%20spending%20to%20increase%2045%25%20to%20%243.2tn%20by%202024%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Bernardo Silva 16', Sterling 57', Gundogan 79'
Bournemouth 1
Wilson 44'
Man of the match: Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
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War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The Porpoise
By Mark Haddon
(Penguin Random House)
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MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
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The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
