It is difficult to imagine N’Golo Kante enjoying the pomp and ceremony that accompanied the introductions of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in Saudi Arabia, but his arrival in the kingdom should be no less celebrated.
Ronaldo and Benzema were paraded, almost immediately after signing for Al Nassr and Al Ittihad respectively, in front of near-sell-outs at their new clubs’ homes. Kante, famously one of football’s most modest protagonists, would presumably shy from such spotlight.
His signing at Ittihad early on Wednesday was marked by a series of videos on the club’s social media channels, Kante the lead man but announcing his transfer to the newly crowned Saudi champions in typically understated fashion.
Where Benzema casually to camera lauded his new teammate from what appeared a private jet, Kante softly returned the compliment against a nondescript white background.
It is the contradiction that makes his move to the Saudi Pro League all the more enticing. Kante is the quiet man with the booming talent, a diminutive French footballer who dominates large swathes of the pitch. He closes space, harries opponents, knits together his own team’s patterns.
In a nod to his attributes, Kante was welcomed to Ittihad with the social-media hashtag #WelcomeBox2Box. To underline the point, Benzema reminded that he once told his former France teammate he was the best box-to-box midfielder in the world.
For some time, that’s what Kante represented. He was a crucial cog in Leicester City’s incredible 2015/16 Premier League title win, plucked the previous summer from French side Caen.
Shortly after Leicester's only top-flight trophy was sealed, then-head of recruitment Steve Walsh famously quipped, “People think we play with two in midfield, and I say 'No. We play with Danny Drinkwater in the middle and Kante either side”. Kante, Walsh said, gave Leicester “essentially 12 players on the pitch”.
A big-money move to Chelsea followed, where Kante quickly helped the London club capture the Premier League crown in his first season. Later, he won the FA Cup, the Uefa Europa League and Champions League – he was named man of the match in the 2021 final against Manchester City – and the Fifa Club World Cup, the latter of which in Abu Dhabi.
By then, of course, Kante was already a World Cup winner having been integral to France’s success at Russia 2018.
It is little wonder Chelsea managers past and present have been huge admirers. Antonio Conte echoed Walsh’s remarks by highlighting that Kante performs the function of two players; Thomas Tuchel compared the player's importance to his team as Kylian Mbappe, Kevin de Bruyne or Mohammed Salah was to theirs.
Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, tried to recruit Kante during his time at Paris Saint-Germain. Even Maurizio Sarri, having received hefty criticsm for trying to refashion the game's standout defensive midfielder, sought apparently to resign Kante at Juventus.
Now Nuno-Espirito Santo will have the pleasure of Kante’s considerable capacity at Ittihad, even if last season’s injury-plagued campaign does constitute a concern. Hamstrung by a hamstring problem, Kante made nine appearances across all competitions. At age 32, and with a three-year contract agreed, the hope will be he has overcome the issue.
Should he have done, Ittihad have unquestionably added an exceptional performer to a squad that at present boasts the current Ballon d’Or holder (Benzema), last season’s Saudi Pro League top scorer (Abderrazak Hamdallah), another master marksman (Romarinho), and one of its premier playmakers (Igor Coronado).
Given an unprecedented summer spend throughout the Saudi top-flight that is set to increase in the coming days and weeks, there will undoubtedly be more to come.
Yet perhaps few will prove as astute as Kante. While he might not carry the star power of Ronaldo and Benzema – admittedly, not many do – he could turn out to be just as effective a signing. Just don’t expect him to crow about it.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Results
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Aatebat Al Khalediah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer).
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Dubai Avenue, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: My Catch, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
Results
6.30pm Madjani Stakes Rated Conditions (PA) I Dh160,000 I 1,900m I Winner: Mawahib, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm Maiden Dh150,000 I 1,400m I Winner One Season, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
7.40pm: Maiden Dh150,000 I 2,000m I Winner Street Of Dreams, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.15pm Dubai Creek Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,600m I Winner Heavy Metal, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm The Entisar Listed I Dh250,000 I 2,000m I Winner Etijaah, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
9.25pm The Garhoud Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,200m I Winner Muarrab, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
10pm Handicap I Dh160,000 I 1,600m I Winner Sea Skimmer, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
