Latest news with #Anglo-Belgian
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Crystal Palace and Bayer Leverkusen monitor Lens midfielder Andy Diouf
Crystal Palace are among the clubs interested in Lens midfielder Andy Diouf (22), according to a report this Wednesday from Foot Mercato. The Eagles already made their interest known last winter, but the Ligue 1 side rejected their approach. Diouf initially struggled to replicate the form that earned him a move to Lens from Basel two years ago, but he steadily improved this campaign under the tutelage of Will Still. The Anglo-Belgian head coach featured Diouf in all 34 Ligue 1 games this season for Les Sang et Or. Lens finished the season in eighth place. The outlet understands that Oliver Glasner's Crystal Palace would be keen to test the waters again to sign Diouf. The prospect of playing in Europe with the FA Cup winners could appeal to the France U23 international, considering he is set to for a second consecutive season without midweek football with the Artois side. Should he sign for Crystal Palace, Diouf would reunite with Jean-Philippe Mateta, who was his teammate in Thierry Henry's France squad for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Foot Mercato adds that other Premier League clubs are interested in Diouf, as well as Real Betis and Bayer Leverkusen. GFFN | Bastien Cheval
Euronews
08-04-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Belgium's Prince Laurent loses legal bid for benefits on top of royal allowance
ADVERTISEMENT Belgium's Prince Laurent has lost a legal bid to receive social security benefits on top of his six-figure royal allowance, in the latest setback for the ever-controversial prince. The 61-year-old — the younger brother of King Philippe — had argued that his work should entitle him and his family to welfare on top of his €388,000 royal allowance and rent-free accommodation. Laurent had maintained that he was partly self-employed due to his role as a royal and because he had run an animal welfare charity for the past decade. "This is not about financial means but principle," Laurent told Belgian broadcaster RTBF. "When a migrant comes here, he registers, he has a right to (social security)," he added. "I may be a migrant too, but one whose family established the state in place." However, a court in Brussels on Monday ruled against his claim, calling it "unfounded". The court said that Laurent cannot be classified as self-employed or an employee. Nevertheless, the judge presiding over the case said the prince should be entitled to a pension but that gaps in Belgian legislation made this impossible, local media reported. Related Belgian royals visit France in political and cultural ties boost Former King of Belgium refuses to give DNA sample in paternity case Laurent's lawyer, Olivier Rijckaert, told Belgian newspaper Le Soir that the prince's request had not been based on a "whim" and said he was considering whether to appeal. He said most of Laurent's allowance is spent on professional expenses such as travel and an assistant's salary, leaving the prince with a net monthly wage of about €5,000. That figure is comparable to the "average salary of a senior executive in Belgium" but without the normal "full social security coverage," Rijckaert told Le Soir. Laurent — who has three adult children with his Anglo-Belgian partner Claire Coombs — has voiced his fears over his family's financial security since the royal allowance will stop upon his death. The prince, who is 15th in line for the Belgian throne, has a long tradition of courting controversy and has been dubbed "the cursed prince" for various gaffes and scandals. In 2018, his allowance was cut after he attended an event at the Chinese embassy in full naval uniform without the Belgian government's consent. Laurent had to pay back €16,900 in 2014 after invoicing the state for grocery bills, skiing holidays and his children's school fees. In 2011, Laurent earned the wrath of then-king Albert II when he visited Congo, Belgium's former colony, against his father's wishes and those of the state. He was also criticised for attending meetings in Libya when the late Muammar Gaddafi was still in power.
