Iker Casillas opens new goalkeeper training centre in Dubai

Iker Casillas says he feels like he is “starting a new life” in football after opening a new goalkeeping academy in Dubai.

The former Real Madrid and Spain captain, who was a World Cup winner in South Africa in 2010, officially retired in 2020, a year after suffering a heart attack.

The 40-year old is returning to the sport in Dubai after starting the Iker Casillas Goalkeeper Training Centre alongside his former club and national team colleague Michel Salgado.

“This is a special day for many reasons,” Casillas said, talking at the headquarters of the Dubai Sports Council.

“I have been involved in football for my entire life. Some years ago I had to retire before my time due to a heart attack.

“That was a difficult time for me, so today I am starting a new life again in terms of football, with my new training centre and goalkeeping coaching system in Dubai.

“Throughout all the years of my career, I was always thinking about the future and how I could help kids who were dreaming about being goalkeepers.

“This is the first day where I am going to try to make this true, and support a lot of kids around the world through my knowledge, and help them chase their dreams.”

Casillas will be welcomed by a familiar face in his new venture in the form of his long-time former teammate Salgado.

The duo enjoyed a highly successful decade together at Madrid between 1999 and 2009, winning everything club football has to offer, before Salgado departed.

The former Spain defender has been resident in Dubai for the best part of 10 years now, running his own coaching academy, and latterly his own professional club side.

Former Spain defender Michel Sagado, left, along with Iker Casillas, centre, and secretary general of Dubai Sports Council Saeed Hareb. EPA

Casillas’ new keeper-specific clinic will be associated with Fursan Hispania, Salgado’s pro side project which translates as “Spanish Knights”.

“I brought him to Dubai and wanted to give him the idea of something that I think will mean a lot,” Salgado said.

“I’ve lived here for nearly 10 years, and I believe I know the Arab world quite well. I think it is something that is missing in the entire world – goalkeeper-specific training.

“When I moved here with my family, it was for so many reasons. Not only is it a beautiful city, but I saw so many opportunities. It was not only because I saw opportunities for investment, but for security for my family.

“I saw a good future, that’s why I decided to move to Dubai. I had offers to carry on playing football, but I thought it was more important to come here and make a new life. After 10 years, I can say that I was right.”

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MATCH INFO

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Man of the Match Romain Saiss (Wolves)

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.”