Voting: Each writer picked their top 20 teams. We then assigned points to each vote, with 20 points awarded for a first place vote, 19 for second, 18 for third and so on. to create the final list.
Presenting the first edition of The National’s European football Power Table, our view of the top 20 European clubs as voted on by Thomas Woods, Jonathan Raymond, Jon Turner and Steven Luckings.
1 – FC Barcelona, 80 points
A unanimous choice for the European champions, whose perch atop La Liga solidified after beating domestic rivals Atletico Madrid, making this an easy selection.
2 – Bayern Munich, 75 points
Cruising along in Germany, none appear to expect that Pep Guardiola’s impending departure will affect the Bavarian superpower.
3 – Juventus, 71 points
After a turgid start to the Serie A season, Juventus are on the cusp of setting a club record for consecutive league wins and look the Champions League finalists again.
4 – SSC Napoli, 62 points
The only club of a handful in Italy to survive an early surge into February still in the scudetto title race, firing behind a top-form Gonzalo Higuain.
5 – Atletico Madrid, 60 points
A loss to Barcelona can be forgiven for Diego Simeone’s side, who still surely count a formidable threat in the Champions League.
6 – Paris Saint-Germain, 58 points
Not a blemish in their record, but the sense is that exceedingly weak competition in France clouds the picture about how truly good this side is.
7 – Real Madrid, 54 points
Interspersed with four La Liga wins in their last six matches by a 19-2 combined scoreline are draws with Real Betis and Valencia, furthering the idea this year’s Real outfit are flat-track bullies.
8 – Manchester City, 52 points
England’s first team to make an appearance, as despite a sluggish Premier League campaign they nonetheless remain near the top and appear best positioned for a Champions League challenge.
9 – Arsenal, 51 points
Inconsistent, but through the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are on their day as potent as any club in Europe – the question is just how many of their day they’ll have.
10 – Tottenham Hotspur, 45 points
Quietly cruising in the Europa League, quietly in possession of joint-best goal difference in the Premier League, and, believe it or not, lurking among Europe’s elite.
11 – Leicester City, 40 points
Probably deserving of better, but the world, or at least our staffers, just aren’t ready to commit to Leicester City as a true title threat in England.
12 – Borussia Dortmund, 39 points
The Bundesliga may be no Premier League in its title race, but it’s no Ligue 1 either at least thanks to Dortmund, eight points off Bayern, and the on-fire Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
13 – Villarreal, 22 points
Haven’t lost in the league since November. Go figure. Since a 1-0 win over Real on December 15, Villarreal have taken 20 of 24 points in a scorching run.
14 – PSV Eindhoven, 21 points
Just overtook Ajax atop the Dutch Eredivisie and effectively took Manchester United out of the Champions League earlier this season, underscoring their quality.
15 – Olympiakos, 16 points
A 19 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses tally with 52 goals to only 11 conceded in the Greek Super League illustrate one of the widest divides in European domestic football in Greece.
T16 – Fenerbahce, 15 points
Solidly on top in the Turkish Super Lig and riding an unbeaten streak that stretches back to September across 25 matches in all competitions.
T16 – Benfica, 15 points
Only second in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, two points behind Sporting Lisbon, but they count 11 better in goal difference and among the Champions League last 16.
T18 – Sporting CP, 9 points
Given credit as league leaders and having come out on top in all three meetings so far with Benfica this season – winning the Portuguese Super Cup, edging them in the league in October and advancing past them in the Taca de Portugal in November on penalties.
T18 – Manchester United, 9 points
More or less residing in the back of the top-20 by default, although their generally lifeless play under Louis van Gaal belies some generally solid standing – that is, if they were a club not named Manchester United.
20 – KAA Gent
Improbably among the last 16 in the Champions League, where they stand a reasonable chance of upending Wolfsburg for a quarter-final spot, while maintaining league leading position in Belgium.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYodawy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarim%20Khashaba%2C%20Sherief%20El-Feky%20and%20Yasser%20AbdelGawad%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2424.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlgebra%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20MEVP%20and%20Delivery%20Hero%20Ventures%2C%20among%20others%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20500%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
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
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
The biog
Age: 35
Inspiration: Wife and kids
Favourite book: Changes all the time but my new favourite is Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Best Travel Destination: Bora Bora , French Polynesia
Favourite run: Jabel Hafeet, I also enjoy running the 30km loop in Al Wathba cycling track
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
More from Aya Iskandarani
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
