“So, you also defend these days?” smiled the losing manager at the opposition superstar during Sunday's Trophee des Champions curtain-raiser to the French club season. The wise-crack came from Antoine Kombouare, the head coach of Nantes, with his side heading towards a 4-0 defeat. Neymar, who he was talking to in full earshot, took the remark in good grace.
But just about every barb aimed at Neymar left him smiling on a night Paris Saint-Germain set down a marker for the domestic domination they plan in the months ahead, and the sort of stellar individual performances they are determined to coax more consistently from the stars who make up their squad. Even when he was fouled, Neymar turned it to his benefit.
Brought down shortly before half-time, he took the subsequent free-kick, and converted it with a curling drive. Manhandled in the opposition penalty area eight minutes from full-time, he rolled in the spot-kick to complete the scoring.
Neymar had set up the first goal, with a through-ball that invited Lionel Messi to duel, one-on-one with Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont, one of several moments in which the chemistry between Neymar and Messi made observers recall their best days in partnership while at Barcelona.
The pair were reunited last summer in Paris, but so far have enjoyed only sporadic moments of complicity. “They showed a form, together, that was better than at any time in a PSG jersey,” reckoned L’Equipe, the French newspaper that chronicles the mood and mechanics of PSG studiously, of the Trophee des Champions exhibition.
Messi’s goal arrived after 23 minutes, a classic dribble and feint before a nimble finish. In 2021-22, Messi needed six Ligue 1 matches to get off the mark for PSG, the club he moved to, with a heavy heart, after he was abruptly released by Barca. He would only score six league goals all season and heard himself booed by home fans after the club’s flop in the Champions League, where PSG let a 2-0 lead evaporate in their last-16 tie against Real Madrid.
The crowd at the Trophee des Champions, an event exported for the second summer in succession to Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield stadium, cheered Messi throughout.
Nantes, like the other 18 clubs in the French top division, expect PSG to be in next year’s Trophee des Champions, too, as Ligue 1 winners again, just as they have been for eight of the last seasons. They would imagine Messi finishes up with many more goals to his name, especially if the relationship with Neymar runs smoothly as at the weekend. “They have a real technical link,” said Christophe Galtier, the new PSG head coach.
Galtier dedicated “part of the trophy” to his predecessor, Mauricio Pochettino, who led PSG to the league title in May but was sacked last month after his 18 months in charge had yielded a Champions League semi-final, that last-16 stumble in Madrid, a second place in the 2020-21 title race and what the club’s executives deemed a poor return on the substantial investment, in salaries and fees, in players last summer.
Achraf Hakimi and the Portuguese left-back Nuno Mendes excepted, Messi, Sergio Ramos, Gini Wijnaldum and Gigi Donnarumma all disappointed in their first seasons in Paris.
Wijnaldum, who joined from Liverpool, is expected to move on, with Roma interested, but Galtier was pleased with the zest of Messi, and the contributions of Ramos and Donnarumma against Nantes. The Italian goalkeeper made an eye-catching save, while Ramos flew home from Tel-Aviv with a proud new addition to a personal showreel that already includes a high number of goals for a central defender. His instinctive backheel put PSG 3-0 up.
And he played the full 90 minutes, something he managed only once in the first half of an injury-plagued 2021-22, the former Real Madrid captain only regaining full fitness towards the end of his debut PSG campaign.
But, with Kylian Mbappe suspended, the night was principally Neymar’s. His opening goal was his first from a direct free-kick for PSG since 2019. He willingly tracked back, as Kombouare noted. He then took it upon himself to act as a sort of master of ceremonies by draping the winners’ medals on the necks of all his colleagues. The club will expect harder-won gold medals to be coming their way at the season’s end.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
AWARDS
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
Teenage%20Mutant%20Ninja%20Turtles%3A%20Shredder's%20Revenge
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WallyGPT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2014%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaeid%20and%20Sami%20Hejazi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%247.1%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%20round%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.”
