Miralem Pjanic has highlighted Sharjah’s determination to sign him as a major factor in why he chose to move to UAE football, saying he wants to spend “many years” at the club and help lift his new team to trophies.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina midfielder, 32, scored on debut on Friday, only two days after arriving in the Emirates to pen a two-year contract.
Pjanic, who has an option to extend his deal by one year, joined Sharjah on a free transfer having spent the past two years at Barcelona.
Speaking following Sharjah’s 3-0 victory at home to Baniyas, Pjanic said: “I chose Sharjah because they really wanted me. It was a good project.
“The coach [Cosmin Olaroiu] was also an important choice for me. He’s a coach who has a mentality to win everything. So I’m here for many years. I love this place, I love this country.”
Pjanic struck the second goal in a convincing win for Sharjah on Friday night, when he converted a penalty six minutes before half-time. Paco Alcacer, another recent signing, had opened the scoring for the hosts, with Luan Pereira adding a third moments before the interval.
Pjanic, though, was the standout having been heavily involved in the opener, while he created numerous opportunities for teammates to add to the scoreline. The former Lyon, Roma and Juventus midfielder was substituted with 12 minutes remaining.
“I’m here to give my experience also for the younger players, the local players, use my experience to let them grow,” Pjanic said. “They can count on me.
“Of course, the most important is that the team won. Of course, my first goal I’m really happy. It’s just the first days; I’m here for two, three days.
“I’m adapting to the new place, new weather… it’s not easy with this hot weather. But I’m sure it’s getting better every time.
“The next games are going to also be really important. I’m happy to be here, in this club. The club’s built to try and win the league, to win all the titles possible. And I’m here to give all my experience that I had in the last clubs that I was [in]. The players can count on me.”
With the victory, Sharjah made it two wins from two at the beginning of the 2022/23 Adnoc Pro League. The six-time UAE champions, who won the most recent of their top-flight crowns in 2019, appear well set to once again challenge at the top of the table. Last season, they finished runners-up to Al Ain.
Asked about celebrating trophies with Sharjah at the end of the campaign, Pjanic said: “That’s also my goal. As I said before, the last years I won everywhere I was. It was in Juventus, Barcelona, Besiktas [on loan]; I won a title, cups.
"So I want to continue like this. I have the mentality to always fight to win. [Baniyas] was a good game, we [worked] really fast in the first half and it has to continue like this. The season is long, it’s going to be difficult.
“There are other teams also who are going to play to win everything. But, as I said, I want to be ready; I will be ready for this season.”
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
The specs: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT
Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 640Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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.”
