Monday 15 February 2010

Andrew Flintoff: Do You Buy That?

The Wall Street Journal reported that Dubai wobbled again today, its precipitous debt mountain barely upright, its property shipping value as quickly as it once acquired it. Apparently RBS holds a huge chunk of the debt. Somehow that figures.

So all is not well in Dubai, unless of course, you're Andrew Flintoff, one of the city state's new celebrity residents. Today's Telegraph gave over plenty of space for Fred to plug 'the ideal location for a cricketer'.

'Dubai's position geographically and its amazing facilities I think will tempt more and more people to do what we've done, and move here in the next few years,' he says.

Yes, Fred, it's almost impossible to see a downside to relocating to Dubai at the moment - even if you play for Lancashire, England is 'only' a seven hour flight away.

'Andrew Flintoff has recently been appointed as a sports ambassador to Dubai' runs the sign-off at the end of the Telegraph story. You don't say.

NB: With Fred living in the gulf, does he now hold the record for being the non-Kolpak, non-overseas player residing furthest from his county?

4 comments:

reina said...

Dear God. I live in Dubai at the moment, and Flintoff is absolutely *everywhere*. There really doesn't seem to be much he won't endorse - even given the absolute madness of some of it.

Sometimes it feels as though most of this city really is living in one massive bubble of denial and self-delusion.

Tim Newman said...

When I lived in Dubai from 2003-2006, I met a young sports lawyer at a function who had moved there from Switzerland to work for the ICC, having worked for UEFA before that.

I remember him asking me what I liked about working in the oil business, and I jokingly said something along the lines of the industry being awash with money, corruption, politics, and instability. His prompt reply:

"That's why I like working in sport."

Boy, he had some stories.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Flintoff is taking the Shane Warne route to fame after sport.

Endorse, endorse and endorse again.

The Old Batsman said...

Yes, would love to know why the ICC decided to move to that cricket hotspot. And when they're planning to move out again.

Tim or Reina - if either of you wanted to write anything on either of those subjects, would be more than happy to host it here...