Paul Pogba completes move back to Juventus on a free transfer

Paul Pogba has completed his move back to Juventus from Manchester United on a free transfer, the Serie A club announced on Monday.

The France international, 29, arrived in Italy to complete his medical on Saturday, bringing to an end an ill-fated six-year spell at Old Trafford.

Pogba returns to the club where he enjoyed huge success between 2012 to 2016, winning four successive scudetti and two Coppa Italias.

"When we say goodbye after an intense adventure shared together, there is always a glimmer of hope that we will see each other again, sooner or later. With Paul that is exactly what has happened," read a statement on the Juventus website.

"Although we parted ways, we never really forgot about each other, and there is something ancestral in the call that after a thousand adventures eventually leads you back home.

"Paul is back in Turin. He left as a boy and returns as a man and a champion, but there is one thing that has not changed - the desire to write unforgettable pages of club history together once more. Pogba is back and we couldn’t be happier."

United confirmed the midfielder would be leaving the club last month upon the end of his contract.

The 2018 World Cup winner was sold back to United for £89 million in 2016 but Pogba was often criticised for lacklustre performances and chronic inconsistency.

Pogba enjoyed early success upon his return to England, helping United win both the League Cup and Europa League in 2017. He enjoyed his most productive season in 2018/19, scoring 13 goals and adding nine assists as United finished sixth in the Premier League.

Pogba infamously fell out with former manager Jose Mourinho and he endured numerous injury setbacks, particularly in his final season. His inconsistent form was also often at odds with his excellent form for France, for whom he played an integral role in winning the 2018 World Cup.

He made just 16 Premier League starts during his final season at Old Trafford, producing one goal and nine assists as United finished sixth with a club record low of 58 points.

Pogba returns to a very different Juventus to the one he left six years ago. The club finished trophyless last season, finishing fourth in Serie A for a second successive season as well as losing the Coppa Italia final to Inter Milan.

Club stalwarts Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala have both departed while Alvaro Moratta returns to parent club Atletico Madrid following the end of his loan.

Wingers Federico Chiesa and Angel di Maria have been recruited from Fiorentina and Paris Saint-Germain respectively while Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo is also a target.

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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.”

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Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:

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