Louis van Gaal believes finishing top-four in the Premier League is more important than winning the FA Cup this season. Jon Super / AP Photo
Louis van Gaal believes finishing top-four in the Premier League is more important than winning the FA Cup this season. Jon Super / AP Photo
Louis van Gaal believes finishing top-four in the Premier League is more important than winning the FA Cup this season. Jon Super / AP Photo
Louis van Gaal believes finishing top-four in the Premier League is more important than winning the FA Cup this season. Jon Super / AP Photo

Sport

Champions League spot the priority, says Louis van Gaal ahead of Manchester United’s FA Cup clash with Arsenal

The FA Cup could offer Louis van Gaal a trophy but the Manchester United manager insists qualifying for the Uefa Champions League is his priority.

Reuters

March 08, 2015

  • English
  • Arabic

The FA Cup could offer him a trophy in his first season in charge of Manchester United but Louis van Gaal says qualifying for next season’s Champions League is the top priority.

United have not won the oldest cup competition in soccer since 2004 and host holders Arsenal in the quarter-final on Monday, hoping to move a step closer to ending their wait to lift the trophy for a record 12th time.

But Van Gaal’s focus is on restoring United to Europe’s elite club competition after the team missed out this season following their worst Premier League finish in the previous campaign when they were seventh.

The Dutch manager, who took over at Old Trafford in the aftermath of that calamitous season, says his side must treat the FA Cup as a mere bonus and concentrate on finishing in the Premier League’s top four to secure a Champions League spot.

“I always want to get the goals what we have set. And the goals we have set is the top four,” Van Gaal said.

“A title is fantastic. When you win the FA Cup you are not in the Champions League which is important for the club, but you have won a title. So for the players it is fantastic, for the manager it is fantastic but our goal is to reach in our first year together a place in the Champions League.”

United are fourth in the league with 10 games remaining, 10 points adrift of leaders Chelsea and one behind Arsenal in third, whose own manager Arsene Wenger once said that the “first trophy is to finish in the top four.”

And Van Gaal agrees: “I think that for a club the Champions League is the highest level and that’s why he is saying that.”

The Dutchman may have his sights set on European football ahead of hunting domestic silverware but he says it is still important for his side to beat Arsenal at Old Trafford, as it could affect their form for the rest of the league campaign.

“Every match you play has an influence in the next match. So we are in a ‘rat race’ in the Premier League and the club who wins the FA Cup match has a very good feeling for the next matches,” Van Gaal explained.

“It could be damaging for the team that loses, but you can also react.”

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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.

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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.”

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