Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi each got on the scoresheet in Riyadh on Thursday night, as the latter’s Paris Saint-Germain edged the former’s Allstar XI 5-4 in their exhibition match at King Fahd Stadium.
Ronaldo, who late last month signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, captained a composite side comprising players from his new club and cross-city rivals Al Hilal.
The match, entitled the Riyadh Season Cup, appeared to be close to a sell-out, with Paris Saint-Germain fielding a near full-strength line-up. Their starting XI included recent World Cup winner Messi, Qatar 2022 runner-up and top scorer Kylian Mbappe, and Brazil star Neymar.
Messi opened the scoring on the night on two minutes, the Argentina captain finishing expertly under Mohammed Al Owais after he was played in by Neymar. Moments later, Ronaldo tested Navas when he raced through, before Luiz Gustavo forced a fine save from the PSG goalkeeper.
Not to be outdone, Al Owais in the opposite goal denied Neymar, while Mbappe had a goal correctly ruled out for offside – Messi supplying the pass to send him clear.
Then, just after the half hour, Ronaldo won a penalty. The former Real Madrid forward contested an in-swinging free-kick with Navas, only for his ex-teammate to inadvertently catch Ronaldo in the face as he attempted to punch clear the ball.
Ronaldo picked himself up and brilliantly dispatched the spot-kick, much to the crowd’s delight. His trademark “Siuuuu” celebration chant rang around the stadium.
Not long after, Juan Bernat was given a straight red card for hacking down Salem Al Dawsari close to the halfway line.
Yet, almost immediately, PSG restored their lead. Three minutes from half-time, Mbappe curled a sublime cross into the Allstar penalty area, and centre-back Marquinhos supplied a superbly deft finish.
From there, a frenetic conclusion to the first half played out; Al Owais saved a weak penalty from Neymar after the Brazilian had been felled in the box by Ali Al Bulaihi – VAR was required – and, as half-time beckoned, Ronaldo pulled his team level.
He needed two bites at the cherry, though, his header deep into injury-time coming back off the post before he smashed home the rebound.
The second half began with nearly as much action. Navas produced a fantastic reaction save from Gonzalo Martinez, while teammate Anderson Talisca smashed a fierce left-footed drive inches beyond the PSG top corner.
But the Lique 1 champions edged out in front. On 53 minutes, Mbappe twisted full-back Saul Abdulhamid one way and the other, leaving Sergio Ramos – another former Ronaldo teammate - to stab his low centre into the Allstar goal.
It prompted another frantic spell. Three minutes later, Hilal defender Hyeon Soo-jang flicked a corner past Navas and, as the Allstar XI were presumably still delighting in drawing level, PSG won another penalty – Al Bulaihi blocked Messi’s goal-bound shot with his arm – and Mbappe took responsibility. The Frenchman sent Al Owais the wrong way to make it 4-3.
Both managers made a raft of substitutions shortly after the hour, with Messi, Mbappe and Ronaldo among those withdrawn.
With 12 minutes remaining, PSG extended their lead through substitute Hugo Ekitike’s powerful strike, although there was still time for Talisca to pull one back right at the death. It proved not to be enough – in the end, PSG triumphed by a solitary goal on a wholly entertaining night in Riyadh.
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Norway v Spain, Saturday, 10.45pm, UAE
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmonovo%20(previously%20Marj3)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECairo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2016%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeducation%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ethree%20rounds%2C%20undisclosed%20amount%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.”
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
