List of All Articles with Tag 'al'

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters is “not too concerned” for now about Saudi Arabia’s ascendancy in football as he reasoned it takes time to become a dominant force. Al Hilal submitted a world-record £259million offer for Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, who has 12 months left on his current deal and been given permission to speak to the Saudi club. Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have already joined the country’s Pro League while Liverpool have agreed a deal with Al-Ettifaq – managed by Steven Gerrard – to sell their captain Jordan Henderson. “Something new is obviously happening,” Masters told BBC Sport. “The Saudi Pro League have stated they want to be a top 10 league by 2030. “They are investing in players and managers to try to raise the profile of the league and clubs. “It has taken us 30 years to get to the position that we have in terms of profile, competitiveness and the revenue streams that we have. “I wouldn’t be too concerned at the moment but, obviously, Saudi Arabian clubs have as much right to purchase players as any other league does. “In the end, the Premier League is a £6billion-a-year operation in terms of revenue and that money is spent reinvested into the pitch. All good competitions have to have revenue streams to back them up.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

LVMH agreed to become a premium sponsor of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the first deal

What the papers say A host of clubs have been linked with Kylian Mbappe after Paris St Germain gave permission for the French superstar striker to negotiate with Saudi team Al Hilal, who have made a world-record bid of £259million for his services. According to various publications, the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Inter Milan and Barcelona have reportedly made contact with PSG about the 24-year-old. United have opened up their scope for a striker, according to the Daily Mail, and they are set to make a formal bid to Atalanta for Rasmus Hojlund this week. The Times says they are willing to pay £60m for the 20-year-old Denmark international, while Atalanta are asking for £86.5m. United are also interested in Eintracht Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani and Ajax forward Mohammed Kudus, according to the Mirror. The Independent says if Mbappe leaves PSG, the French giants could then meet Tottenham’s £100million asking price for England striker Harry Kane. The race for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher has reportedly narrowed down to two clubs, with Tottenham and West Ham best placed to sign the 23-year-old, the Evening Standard says. Social media round-up Players to watch Emiliano Martinez: Inter Milan have offered Aston Villa £12.5million for their Argentina World Cup-winning goalkeeper after selling Andre Onana to Manchester United, according to TyC Sports Argentina. Andrea Cambiaso: Tottenham and Nottingham Forest have both contacted Juventus about the 23-year-old defender, Tuttosport reports. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Unilever Plc reported sales that beat analysts’ estimates, driven by higher prices for products like Dove soap and

Former Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest midfielder Chris Bart-Williams has died at the age of 49, the clubs have announced. Wednesday said the ex-England Under-21 international died in the US, where he had been working as a coach and mentor. The news came on the same day as the death of both clubs’ former striker Trevor Francis, who died aged 69. “Bart-Williams’ untimely passing mirrors that of his manager at Hillsborough Trevor Francis, who also died on this, one of the darkest days in our long history,” a statement from Wednesday said. “Our thoughts are with Chris’ and Trevor’s families and friends at this devastating time.” Sierra Leone-born Bart-Williams, who began his career as a trainee at Leyton Orient, made more than 150 appearances for Wednesday, for whom he played in the Premier League as a teenager, before earning a £2.5m move to Forest in July 1995. He played 248 games for Forest and later had spells with Charlton Athletic and Ipswich Town before moving into coaching in the United States following his retirement as a player, initially working in women’s college football. Describing himself on his social media accounts as “coach, college recruiter, former footballer”, Bart-Williams was owner and chief executive officer of US College Soccer recruiting agency CBW Soccer Elite, working with college-bound players. His LinkedIn profile reads: “As a retired athlete with 35 years of international playing and coaching experience, I’m passionate about developing young adults into highly successful soccer players. “My goal is to empower kids to have the confidence and technical ability to excel in soccer while learning valuable lessons in responsibility and teamwork that will prepare them for a lifetime of success. Everything I do is designed to maximize athletes’ unique potential and propel them to their personal best in soccer and in life.” In February last year, Florida-based Dade County announced Bart-Williams had been appointed as its head coach to oversee all its football programmes. News of his death was greeted with shock by former team-mate Mark Crossley. The goalkeeper, who played with Bart-Williams at Forest, said on social media: “Devastating and I’m so upset to hear the news of Trevor Francis passing and my former team mate Chris Bart Williams, both so young, it is so sad, RIP Trevor and Chris.” Ipswich also offered their condolences, posting: “The club is saddened to learn of the passing of former player Chris Bart-Williams. Once a Blue, always a Blue.” Read More Former England striker Trevor Francis, the first £1m player, dies aged 69 Trevor Francis: The ‘Super Boy’ who became Britain’s first £1m player Football rumours: Premier League clubs scramble for Kylian Mbappe ‘Beyond legendary’ – Jude Bellingham pays heartfelt tribute to Trevor Francis Football remembers Trevor Francis – Monday’s sporting social

About 42,000 people are on the verge of starving to death in northeast Burkina Faso as Islamist militants

China’s relaxation of natural gas price controls will benefit local utilities and may help spur demand for seaborne

Thailand’s cabinet approved an additional public holiday on July 31 to set a six-day break for most workers

Amid flashing strobe lights at a SoulCycle class in Notting Hill, our instructor MJ stands on a platform, his baseball cap flipped backward and his facial hair trimmed into designer stubble, looking as if he’s straight out of a boy band. “I’ve had a f***ing s*** day and I didn’t want to come to work,” he says, softly, through his head mic. “But I’m so glad I did, as the energy is bringing me to life!” Everyone around me – women between the ages of 25 and 35, all of them dressed in one-shoulder leisurewear – roars in response. “Sit up tall, don’t let anyone make you feel down,” MJ continues. “You’re all legends, don’t let anybody judge you!” I pause for breath after yet another manic burst of energy cycling on the spot. Then we have to pick up dumbbells while atop stationary bikes and do a choreographed workout to a Taylor Swift song. This special Swift-themed class is taking place at 8.30 on a Monday night and in the same venue where First Lady Jill Biden and Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty attended a spinning class together after King Charles’s coronation in May – reportedly with 10 security guards in tow. I feel slightly out of my depth. I spent two hours looking for my lycra leggings and I’m totally unfit. Apart from walking my dog, I haven’t done any real exercise since 2017, when I had a go at clean eating and did a few weeks of high-intensity training at the gym. But now I’m ready for SoulCycle’s “unique mind-body-soul experience”. This leap back into exercise is partly inspired by Apple TV+’s dark comedy Physical, which is returning for its final season next month. It’s about a housewife played by Rose Byrne who battles her demons and a vicious and self-critical inner voice while finding solace in aerobics. Could it work for me, too? Is exercise the answer to my endlessly spinning mind? Would it serve as an instant catapult into a world of empowerment and success? Everyone in this class knows the words to every Taylor Swift song that booms from the speakers. “Drop everything now/Meet me in the pouring rain”, she sings on “Sparks Fly”. “Kiss me on the sidewalk/Take away the pain.” But all I can think about is the pain I’m currently in. We’re wearing special shoes that click into the pedals of the bike, so it’s not easy to detach oneself. But soon I become grateful for it: if I’m superglued into this class, I can’t give up so easily. As MJ says: “No struggle... no progress”. It doesn’t matter if you can’t move the wheel at the front of the SoulCycle bike, or if you’re peddling down on it like a gazelle; if you’re sweating and panting, you’re part of this love-in. And wow, it feels great. I’m not alone in adoring it, and some of my fellow riders were here even earlier, for “part one” of a class modelled after Swift’s setlist on her current US tour. (Each class costs £26, while a renewable package of four is £86, or eight at £160). It’s a little pocket of joy I knew nothing about while I was sitting at home snacking in front of my laptop and gaining weight. As I leave the SoulCycle studio and wander into the night, I take a deep breath. It feels good to be back in the saddle – even though my legs are like jelly. I have to ask my friend to drive me home because I’m not sure I’ll make it on foot. There are a few reasons I haven’t been hitting the gym, or even doing the occasional relaxed yoga class. Having children on my own has been an intense journey. For years my idea of exercise has been holding a baby or running after two kids in a park with an unruly dog. But when I read a few different headlines lately (“Fit and fabulous at 54: Jennifer Aniston emerges from her new workout class”; “Nicole Kidman, 56, flashes her incredible abs in revealing black dress”), I felt a pang of guilt. These women are older than me but super fit. My daughters, aged five and seven, are both at school now, so there’s no excuse for being so inactive. I had some blood tests done and my cholesterol is creeping up. I’ve been told I need to give up sugar and take up exercise. How can I be a good role model to my kids if all they do is see me eating the chocolate rolls meant for their pack lunches? And where do I even begin with fitness? After the excitement of my Taylor Swift class, the idea of strolling along to my local Virgin Active feels mundane. I ponder whether it’d be easier to stay fit if I was super-rich. I can see myself signing up for four workout sessions rigged up to an electrical current. Because why not? I can’t possibly afford the bespoke, members-only gym Bodyism in London’s Westbourne Grove, whose clients include heiress Tamara Ecclestone. It caters for high-intensity, low-impact training, with top-tier packages costing £23,000 a year. More affordable, though, is their class membership – which costs £1,500 a year for 72 classes and promises to help elongate and tone the body. But it’s also full of the clean-eating squad – I might not fit in. Then there’s London’s BXR, a private, boutique boxing-themed gym that’s spread over two floors. From the street below I can glimpse a massive boxing ring behind enormous glass panels – a manifestation of the idea that celebrities feel they live in a goldfish bowl. It’s also packed with A-listers who get free guest passes while staying at the luxury hotel Chiltern Firehouse that’s located opposite. Membership costs from £2,500 a year and up (by a lot), and the Vogue editor Edward Enniful and fashion designer Julian Macdonald are apparently fans of BXR’s Versaclimbing – a high-intensity, low-impact workout on a Versaclimber. This cardio fitness machine has a 75-degree vertical rail with pedals and handles that mimic the natural motion of climbing. When I hear that the machine burns up to 800 calories in a 45-minute session – well, I’m on the phone to the bookings team in a flash. Unlike treadmill or spin classes, it’s exercise that is full body but low impact – meaning it “minimises unnecessary stress or trauma to your body”. At the state of the art Repose, a wellness clinic in London’s High Street Kensington with members including Made in Chelsea’s Millie Mackintosh, the speciality is “anti-gravity fitness”. It might sound unusual to exercise from a silk hammock suspended from the ceiling for £40 a class – but sessions include pilates, suspension fitness, air bar and both restorative and aerial yoga. Models and celebrities, including Poppy Delevingne, are also queuing up for personal training at London’s E-Pulsive, which costs £85 a session. The electrical muscle stimulation class (EMS) sees you strap yourself into a full-body vest that zaps you with low-frequency electric impulses to manually contract your muscle fibres while you exercise, increasing the intensity of your workout. It seems ideal for people like me who are too busy to exercise but who want superfast results – apparently, a 20-minute EMS workout burns 500 calories and can offer the same results as a 90-minute high-intensity gym class. It sounds like heaven. Then there’s roller-skating at model Liberty Ross’ glamorous Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace in West London or New York – the original LA Flipper’s in the 1970s was run by Ross’s dad Ian Flipper-Ross, and was so associated with glam fitness that it was dubbed “Studio 54 on wheels”. A one-to-one beginner’s class at the new skate school costs £50, or £35 in a group lesson of up to 12 skaters. Or you can just book in for a general skate with your kids – which kills two birds with one stone as they have fun while you burn calories. A two-hour skate session for adults starts from £15.50 and from £11.50 for children. All of this sounds great – but if I went for a workout schedule of my choice, I can’t see it totalling less than £30,000 a year. Bearing in mind that exercise is addictive and makes you feel good, it might be far more in the long run, too. It’s also a tad out of my price range – I don’t plan on dropping into Equinox on Kensington Roof Gardens or the Bulgari Hotel gym any time soon. Instead, I can see myself signing up for four workout sessions rigged up to an electrical current. Because why not? If money wasn’t an obstacle, I would install a gym and a pilates studio in my own house, with a cryotherapy chamber and a personal trainer on tap. But until then, I plan to start running with the dog, my two kids behind me on their scooters. It’s far cheaper and – unlike the late-night Taylor Swift class – won’t require a babysitter. Read More I keep forgetting my dog’s birthday – could a luxury pet party make it up to him? ‘I’m here anyway, why not?’: My non-surgical facelift has got me thinking about more procedures I’ve never had a platonic relationship with a man – sex can’t help but get in the way Husband fired from family business after wife roleplayed with reborn dolls Montana Brown explains why she chose a home birth as a ‘non-white person’ 8 healthy habits to help you live longer – according to a new study

China will likely keep cutting interest rates, speed up the issuance of infrastructure bonds and loosen more property

Remy Cointreau SA said first quarter sales fell sharply, as expected, with US consumption of cognac dropping to

Qatari telecom operator Ooredoo QPSC is in talks with two other regional firms to combine their portfolio of