A tearful Carlos Henrique Casemiro bade farewell to Real Madrid on Monday at a ceremony where the club he has departed to join Manchester United lavished fulsome praise on him.
“You’ll always be one of us,” said the club’s president Florentino Perez in a speech reflecting the admiration Casemiro is held in. The 18 trophies he won over his eight seasons with Madrid were all on display.
After an emotional morning of goodbyes, the Brazilian flew to Manchester, aiming to arrive in plenty of time to take a seat in the stands at Old Trafford for Monday night’s visit of Liverpool, and from there assess, close up, what awaits him at United. “A great club” as Casemiro called them.
He has accepted a stiff challenge, at the age of 30, and a major boost in salary, but will know that he cannot expect trophies to come to him there at the rate they did in Madrid.
Perez, who has banked for his club a transfer fee that could rise to €70m for a move he said Casemiro had “gained the right to choose”, recalled one of his first conversations with the 20-year-old midfielder Madrid had scouted in Sao Paulo, and an early impression of the same confidence United have invested in. “You said to me that if you were given five games, that would be enough to show your quality,” remembered Perez. “It wasn’t to be five - it would be 336, and you fought through every game as if it were your last.”
As it happens, Casemiro’s last game as a starter in a Madrid jersey finished with a man-of-the-match award in a European final, the Uefa Super Cup victory over Eintracht Frankfurt two weeks ago. Three months ago, he collected his fifth Champions League gold medal in Madrid’s 1-0 win in Paris against Liverpool.
In the aftermath of that triumph, Casemiro said, “the feeling was that it was time for a change, a new club, a new country, a new culture.” The principal motivation was not, the player insisted, the hefty salary that United offered: “Anybody who thinks I have left for money doesn’t know me.
“I want to get to know the Premier League from inside. I’m in as good form as any time in my career.”
Leaving would still be a wrench, Casemiro acknowledged. He singled out, in the Madrid family, the two colleagues with whom he has been most closely associated. No midfield unit in the modern game has been as successful over such a long period as Casemiro’s partnership with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. They won 17 trophies and played well over 200 games together, a peerless blend of vigilance and anticipation from the Brazilian, accuracy and vision from Kroos, allied with the energy and inspiration of Modric, now an ageless 36.
The close ties on the pitch spread beyond it, as Modric and Kroos recognised in very personal tributes. “You’re an exemplary professional,” the German told Casemiro, “a top player who rescued me again and again.” He joked about his teammates’ relentless work ethic. “With you, no one could even relax in the steam bath without being told it was time to go and do some weights. Your new teammates need to be warned!”
Modric cast his departing friend’s mind back to the day of Casemiro’s senior Madrid debut, in 2013. “You were so nervous and I told you to relax. I think about that when I look at how things worked out. You’re a true leader, and the best bodyguard in the world.”
Real win Uefa Super Cup
A tough act to follow, then, for the midfielders being groomed by Madrid to take over from the Casemiro-Modric-Kroos combination.
Casemiro was well aware of the club’s focus on covering his deeper role in particular. Aurelien Tchouameni, the 22-year-old French anchor midfielder was signed from Monaco for €80m earlier this summer. Edu Camavinga, Tchouameni’s compatriot, still only 19, joined 12 months earlier. “Madrid always sign the best,” said Casemiro, namechecking the two young Frenchmen, and adding his endorsement to Fede Valverde, the Uruguayan, 22. “Fede has 10 or 12 years ahead of him and can also play my role.”
Ahead of Casemiro are huge expectations at an unstable club in need of an able bodyguard in midfield, among new colleagues who could use the sort of rescuer Kroos paid homage to, and alongside up-and-coming United prospects who will appreciate a wise, tough, serial champion who, as Perez said “was a father to our younger players".
“The pressure here at Madrid is not easy,” the president told him, “but you rose to it.” The pressure where Casemiro is heading is no lighter.
Man United v Liverpool ratings
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
MATHC INFO
England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)
New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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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.
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
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.”
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
Brief scores:
Everton 0
Leicester City 1
Vardy 58'
THREE
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Duminy's Test career in numbers
Tests 46; Runs 2,103; Best 166; Average 32.85; 100s 6; 50s 8; Wickets 42; Best 4-47
