AC Milan have accepted a bid from Manchester City for their Brazilian midfielder Kaka.
AC Milan have accepted a bid from Manchester City for their Brazilian midfielder Kaka.

Hughes is confident of luring Kaka from Milan



Mark Hughes says once Kaka hears the grand plans for Manchester City, he will have no hesitation in quitting AC Milan and joining the Blues. Milan allowed the Brazilian to talk to City after accepting a £108m (Dh592m) bid for the former world footballer of the year. And Hughes, who stressed he has been involved in discussions all the way through rather than being sidelined as some have suggested, does not feel there will be a problem, claiming: "We are all working to the same end: trying to be successful on a regular basis

"You do that by bringing good players to the club to supplement those we have. "It is not something that will happen overnight and we have to let people understand what we are trying to do and understand where this club will go in the next few years. Once they understand that and recognise the people driving it forward they will become excited by what we can offer." Reduced to bringing in ageing players such as Ronaldinho and, on a short-term loan, David Beckham to bolster their ranks, Milan realise City's bid, which is said to last only until the end of this month's transfer window, represents an opportunity to restore the side to former glories by spending the money on several replacements.

The next few days are likely to be taken up with assessing the former world player of the year's various sponsorship agreements and discovering how easily these can be transferred to England from Italy. Carlo Ancelotti, the Milan coach, hopes the Brazilian will stay at the San Siro. "My hope is to be able to coach Kaka for many more years, but we've got to be aware of the facts and the club's evaluation of the offer presented," he said.

The German side Hamburg said last night that City have bid for the midfielder Nigel de Jong. Portsmouth have had an undisclosed bid accepted for the Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant. Pompey appear to have stolen a march on their rivals for Pennant's signature - with reports suggesting Real Madrid and Milan are also interested. The Wigan manager Steve Bruce confirmed a £14m deal to sell Wilson Palacios to Tottenham has been "virtually agreed". Palacios, 24, has been with Wigan for just over a year after he joined from Deportivo Olimpia in January last year.

Hull have agreed a deal with Manchester United to take the Angola striker Manucho on loan for the rest of the season. West Ham have refused to give Craig Bellamy permission to talk to Tottenham or Manchester City and have offered the Wales striker a new contract. The Benfica forward Ariza Makukula is moving to Bolton on loan after rejecting a move to West Bromwich Albion. The Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has rejected the terms of the contract which was offered to him this week. The Spaniard has refused to commit to the deal because of a disagreement with owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks over his level of control.

* With agencies

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

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