Sergio Ramos is leaving Real Madrid after 16 years, despite admitting on Thursday that he 'wanted to stay' at the Spanish club. Reuters
Sergio Ramos is leaving Real Madrid after 16 years, despite admitting on Thursday that he 'wanted to stay' at the Spanish club. Reuters
Sergio Ramos is leaving Real Madrid after 16 years, despite admitting on Thursday that he 'wanted to stay' at the Spanish club. Reuters
Sergio Ramos is leaving Real Madrid after 16 years, despite admitting on Thursday that he 'wanted to stay' at the Spanish club. Reuters

Sergio Ramos breaks down in tears as he heads for Real Madrid exit


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Sergio Ramos broke down in tears on Thursday as he officially announced his exit from Real Madrid after 16 years.

The 35-year-old has suffered a frustrating injury-hit season where he has managed just 15 La Liga appearances and played just five times since the start of the year.

Ramos was also left out of Spain's Euro 2020 squad due to his relentless injury problems this campaign

His contract expires at the end of the month and he was unable to agree a new deal with Los Blancos.

At a farewell press conference, Ramos said: "You're never prepared to say adios to Real Madrid but the moment has arrived, this is a see you soon because sooner or later I will return to Real Madrid.

"I'll always keep Real Madrid in my heart. A marvellous stage in my life is over, but a new exciting future awaits and I am looking forward to showing my level and winning some more trophies.

"I would like to thank the fans, they carried me in their arms at all times. I would have liked to say goodbye at the Bernabeu. But I will always carry you in my heart."

Ramos also said that he was going to accept Real's offer of a new contract only to find that deal was no longer on the table.

"The first thing I'd like to say is that I've never wanted to leave Real Madrid, I've always wanted to stay.

"To give details and to be brief, I go back to the lockdown LaLiga title, which we won and celebrated. After that, the club offered me the opportunity to extend my contract, but because of Covid it was put on the back burner.

"In the last few months, the club made me a one-year offer with a salary reduction. Money was never a problem; the president knew that I'd made clear that it wasn't an economic issue. It was a problem in terms of years; they offered me one year and I wanted two, it was stability for my family.

"In the last conversations I said that I accepted and they told me that there was no longer an offer. I was told that even though I had agreed to the last offer that was on the table, I was told that it had an expiry date and I hadn't heard about it."

Ramos won four European Cups, four World Club Cups, three European Super Cups, five La Liga titles, two Copa del Reyes and is Madrid's second most decorated player in their history behind Paco Gento.

Despite the tearful finale after such a distinguished career in the Spanish capital, Ramos refused to point the finger of blame at Florentino Perez. "My relationship with the president has been extraordinary, it's like father and son, I'll always be eternally grateful," he said.

"He brought me to Real Madrid and I'm not going to make any statement against him, because in families there are also fights and everyone has to look after their own interests, but today I'll remember that hug we gave each other at the event."

Sergio Ramos celebrates after Real Madrid defeated Juventus to win the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff, one of four European Cups he lifted with Los Blancos. EPA
Sergio Ramos celebrates after Real Madrid defeated Juventus to win the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff, one of four European Cups he lifted with Los Blancos. EPA
Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers

Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.

It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.

The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.

Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.

Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.

He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.

AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”

A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.

Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.

Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.

Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.

By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.

Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.

In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”

Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.

She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.

Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.

How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Gifts exchanged
  • King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
  • Queen Camilla -  Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
  • Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
  • Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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

The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
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Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

FIXTURES

Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan

The top two teams qualify for the World Cup

Classification matches 
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.

Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off

Monday's results
  • UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
  • Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
  • Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS

- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns 

- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars

- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes

- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts

Key products and UAE prices

iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229

iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649

iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179

Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.