Manchester United completed a staggering transfer deadline-day deal for French teenager Anthony Martial on Tuesday, overshadowed in part by David de Gea remaining at Old Trafford after his move to Real Madrid collapsed.
News of United’s interest in the 19-year-old Martial first broke on Monday and he signed a four-year contract with an option for a further year after passing a medical examination.
British press reports put the fee at £36 million (Dh202.1m), which would make Martial the game’s most expensive teenager. Reports in France said the cost of the transfer could rise to €80 million (Dh330.8m).
"I have always wanted to play in the Premier League and to join the biggest club in the world is what every young footballer dreams of," said Martial, who received his first France call-up last week.
Martial played in 52 Ligue 1 games at Monaco. United manager Louis van Gaal said the club would need to show the pacey former Lyon youngster patience.
Read more: Ian Hawkey on the pricey baggage Anthony Martial will have to carry at Manchester United
“He has all the attributes to become a top football player; however we need to give him time to adjust to his new environment and the rhythm of the Premier League,” Van Gaal told the United website.
Against all expectations, Martial is set to start life at Old Trafford alongside goalkeeper De Gea, who was left stranded after his long-awaited transfer to Madrid broke down late on Monday.
De Gea had appeared on the brink of a move to Madrid worth €30-40 million and involving Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas in part-exchange.
But the deal collapsed at the last minute, with a Spanish Professional League (LFP) spokesman telling AFP that De Gea had not been registered as a Madrid player.
The Spanish club subsequently released a statement accusing United of sending the necessary documents after the deadline had passed in Spain.
In a statement of their own, United laid the blame at Madrid’s door, adding: “The club is delighted that its fan-favourite double Player of the Year, David de Gea, remains a Manchester United player.”
Financial consultants Deloitte said that Premier League gross spending was £870m, surpassing the record of £835m for a single transfer window, which was set a year ago.
“English clubs have significantly increased means relative to their European peer group,” Alex Thorpe from Deloitte’s Sports Business Group told AFP.
“With the recently announced broadcast deal to the next cycle, that trend is set to continue.”
On a relatively low-key deadline day, one of the most intriguing stories involved West Bromwich Albion's Saido Berahino, who apparently threatened to go on strike after his hopes of a move to Tottenham Hotspur fell through.
Having already turned down two offers of up to £21m from Spurs last month, West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace reportedly rejected two more approaches for the 22-year-old striker in the final hours before the deadline.
Peace’s stance infuriated Berahino, who had a transfer request rejected last month, and a post on his Twitter account suggested he was willing to stage a protest.
“Sad how I can’t say exactly how the club has treated me but I can officially say I will never play Jeremy Peace,” he tweeted.
Peace responded by blaming Tottenham for unsettling Berahino with their repeated attempts to prise him away from The Hawthorns.
“We have a key player who has been very unsettled by antics which were designed to get him out of our club cheaply,” Peace said.
“We are now left with the task of repairing the damage created by this unfortunate episode.”
Having been rebuffed three times in their pursuit of Everton defender John Stones, Chelsea signed Senegal centre-back Papy Djilobodji from Nantes on a four-year deal.
The champions added a second signing just before the window closed when they paid a reported £4m for Reading defender Michael Hector, who was immediately loaned back to the second-tier club.
West Ham United enjoyed a fruitful day as Alex Song and Victor Moses joined on loan from Barcelona and Chelsea, respectively.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic signed Croatian striker Nikica Jelavic from Hull City for an undisclosed fee and winger Michail Antonio from Nottingham Forest for around £7m.
Everton announced the signing of Argentine centre-back Ramiro Funes Mori from River Plate on a five-year contract for a fee of £9.5m.
Southampton signed defender Virgil van Dijk from Scottish champions Celtic on a five-year deal for £11.5m, while Bournemouth landed striker Glenn Murray from Crystal Palace.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Company%20profile
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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.”
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs%3A%20Taycan%20Turbo%20GT
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Greatest Royal Rumble match listing
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
