Goran Pandev shown scoring for Napoli in a Serie A match in September 2013. Luca Zennaro  / EPA / September 28, 2013
Goran Pandev shown scoring for Napoli in a Serie A match in September 2013. Luca Zennaro / EPA / September 28, 2013

Global transfers roundup: Napoli send Pandev and Dzemaili to Galatasaray; Porto sign Otavio



Napoli

Galatasaray’s former Italy national coach Cesare Prandelli built up his squad ahead of their Champions League campaign by signing Macedonian international striker Goran Pandev and Swiss midfielder Blerim Dzemaili from Serie A side Napoli on Monday.

According to the Italian media Galatasaray paid EU€4 million (Dh19.2m) for the duo.

Pandev, 31 and who has scored 26 goals in 75 international appearances, signed a one year contract with the option of extending it for another year and sees him leave Italy after 13 years which has seen him play for among other clubs Inter Milan and Lazio.

Dzemaili, 28 and a member of the Swiss squad for both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups scoring in the 5-2 group stage loss to France in this year’s edition, signed a three year contract.

Galatasaray have been drawn in Champions League Group D with English giants Arsenal, 2013 finalists Borussia Dortmund and Belgian champions Anderlecht.

FC Porto

Highly-regarded Brazilian teenage attacking midfielder Otavio signed for Portuguese side Porto on Monday from Internacional Porto Alegre for a fee reported to be €7m.

The 19-year-old, who had been with Internacional for three years, signed a five year contract with Porto which includes a buyout clause of €50m.

Otavio could find himself making his Champions League debut this month when the campaign begins with Porto drawn in Group H along with Ukraine’s 2009 Uefa Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk, Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao, making their first appearance in the group stage for 16 years, and Belarus minnows BATE Borisov.

Olympiakos

Former Argentina international Javier Saviola left Greek champions Olympiakos for Italian Serie A side Verona on Monday.

Olympiakos signed Serbian international midfielder Luka Milivojevic on loan from Belgian outfit Anderlecht while on a busy day for them they also saw their Greek international defender Avraam Papadopoulos sign for Turkish top tier side Trabzonspor.

They also sent French-born Malian international midfielder Sambou Yatabare on loan to French Ligue 1 side Guingamp.

Saviola, 32 and capped 40 times scoring 11 goals for the national side, played an important role in Olympiakos’s title win last term hitting the net 12 times in 26 appearances.

Milivojevic, 23, has played seven tiles for the Serbian national team and last season played in 19 games for Anderlecht.

Papadopoulos, capped 36 times since making his debut in 2008, has been at Olympiakos for six years scoring five goals.

AC Milan

AC Milan pulled the plug on a deal to sign Jonathan Biabiany from Parma on transfer deadline day but did snap up Giacomo Bonaventura from Atalanta.

Milan abandoned the move for Frenchman Biabiany after full-back Cristian Zaccardo refused to move in the opposite direction on loan, and after Biabiany had appeared on the club’s website in a Milan scarf.

However, the Rossoneri did wrap up a deal to take Bonaventura, 25, on a five-year deal.

His arrival caps a busy few days for Milan, who also brought in Chelsea pair Fernando Torres and Marco van Ginkel on loan deals.

Milan have also signed Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez, Paris Saint-Germain duo Alex and Jeremy Menez and Udinese’s Colombian full-back Pablo Armero this summer, while completing a permanent deal for France defender Adil Rami, who had been on loan from Valencia.

Milan started the new Serie A season with a 3-1 victory against Lazio on Sunday.

Marseille

Teenage Brazilian defender Doria has left Botafogo for Marseille on a five-year deal, the Ligue 1 club announced shortly before Monday night’s transfer deadline.

Capped once by Brazil, the 19-year-old arrives at the Stade Velodrome for a fee equivalent to that which OM received for selling another Brazilian defender, Lucas Mendes, to El Jaish in Qatar, the club said.

That means Marseille have spent around €5m for Doria, who said: “I am very pleased, honoured and proud to join OM. They are one of the biggest clubs in Europe, very well known in Brazil.”

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The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

The biog

Mission to Seafarers is one of the largest port-based welfare operators in the world.

It provided services to around 200 ports across 50 countries.

They also provide port chaplains to help them deliver professional welfare services.

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5