Fujairah club have assured their fans they have no plans to sell Madjid Bougherra despite lucrative offers from Russia and Turkey.
Russian Premier League club Rubin Kazan and Turkey's Bursaspor have contacted Fujairah about acquiring the services of the Algeria captain, who has signed a one-year deal, reportedly worth €1.4 million (Dh6.9m), with the promoted Arabian Gulf League club.
Kazan, according to Russia media reports, have offered Bougherra €8m for a three-year deal and are willing to pay the penalty clause in his contract.
“We received two very attractive offers from Rubin Kazan and Bursaspor, who wanted to secure the services of Algerian defender Madjid Bougherra, but we have politely refused,” Sultan Al Shara, Fujairah’s chief executive, said.
“We could have earned a profit of at least Dh5m if we had accepted the offer, but I can assure you we have no plans of selling Bougherra.
“He is a huge asset for us, since he is a player with a huge experience and he is a big part of our plans for the coming season.”
Adel Amri, Bougherra’s manager, confirmed the two offers, but said the “player and the club have rejected them”.
“The Fujairah management have put a lot of faith in Bougherra’s ability to lead the team this season and the player also wants to honour his contract,” he was quoted as saying in the Arabic media.
Al Ain, meanwhile, return home today from their training camp in Austria, confident they can get past Saudi club Al Ittihad in the two-leg AFC Champions League quarter-final before starting their domestic campaign.
The first game will be held at Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on August 19. A week later, they will meet the hosts in Jeddah.
There will be no home fans to support the home side in the second leg, though, as the AFC have ordered that match to be played behind closed doors because of the misbehaviour of Ittihad’s fans in previous matches at the venue, when they threw flares and other objects onto the pitch.
Hamed Al Balawi, the executive director of Ittihad, has said they will appeal against the AFC ruling and are hoping the penalty will be overturned.
Elsewhere in the Arabian Gulf League, Ajman have announced a two-year deal with Al Nasr defender Masood Hassan, while Al Dhafra have brought in Khalifa Ibrahim and Rashid Ghuloom from league champions Al Ahli.
Emirates have ruled out a move for Algerian international Medhi Lacen, a day after reports linked the Ras Al Khaimah club with the Getafe midfielder.
“This news is pure speculation,” said Adnan Al Zaabi, vice president at the club. “We already have five foreign players and there is no way we can add another.”
Emirates recently signed Moroccan striker Youssef Kaddioui to bring the number of foreign players on their books to five. He joins another Moroccan, Issam Erraki, Brazilian Luiz Henrique, Argentine German Herrera and Rodrigo of East Timor.
arizvi@thenational.ae
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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Francesco Totti's bio
Born September 27, 1976
Position Attacking midifelder
Clubs played for (1) - Roma
Total seasons 24
First season 1992/93
Last season 2016/17
Appearances 786
Goals 307
Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2
Company%20Profile
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SPECS
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20Profile
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
Under 19 Cricket World Cup, Asia Qualifier
Fixtures
Friday, April 12, Malaysia v UAE
Saturday, April 13, UAE v Nepal
Monday, April 15, UAE v Kuwait
Tuesday, April 16, UAE v Singapore
Thursday, April 18, UAE v Oman
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Aaron Benjamin, Akasha Mohammed, Alishan Sharafu, Anand Kumar, Ansh Tandon, Ashwanth Valthapa, Karthik Meiyappan, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Rishab Mukherjee, Niel Lobo, Osama Hassan, Vritya Aravind, Wasi Shah
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Points Classification after Stage 1
1. Geraint Thomas (Britain / Team Sky) 20
2. Stefan Kueng (Switzerland / BMC Racing) 17
3. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus / Team Sky) 15
4. Tony Martin (Germany / Katusha) 13
5. Matteo Trentin (Italy / Quick-Step) 11
6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 10
7. Jos van Emden (Netherlands / LottoNL) 9
8. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland / Team Sky) 8
9. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 7
10. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Dimension Data) 6
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
57%20Seconds
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
