Bayern Munich’s director of sport Matthias Sammer said on Wednesday that Bastian Schweinsteiger’s future remains unclear at the German clubs amid rumours linking him to Manchester United.
The 30-year-old Germany captain has one year left on his Bayern contract and, having collected eight Bundesliga winners medals in 13 seasons, he is one of the top earners at the Bavarian giants.
Bayern’s vice captain recently said he was relishing the prospect of trying to win a historic fourth consecutive German league title next season, which would be a first for any Bundesliga club.
But British media claim Louis van Gaal’s United are set to swoop for the midfielder and Sammer says anything is possible.
“Basically, nothing is excluded,” Sammer said when asked about Schweinsteiger in a news conference as Bayern announced the signing of Brazil forward Douglas Costa.
“It’s a crazy world. He has clearly expressed that he is an important part of the team, but let’s see. We’re still waiting.”
Schweinsteiger told German broadcaster ARD that he would talk to Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge about his future this summer and was one of several Germany stars missing at Wednesday’s first preseason training session in Munich.
“I’ve still got a year on my contract, so there’s no rush and the summer’s only just beginning,” he said last week.
At the end of last season, Schweinsteiger was coy when asked directly about Manchester United by Sky, repeating that he still has a year left on his contract.
After a commanding performance in the World Cup final win over Argentina, Schweinsteiger endured an injury-ravaged season, playing in 20 of Bayern’s 34 league games on the way to their third straight Bundesliga title.
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
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The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
