"We have a hand on the trophy,” observed Marquinhos, captain of Paris Saint-Germain, a 2-1 victory in Auxerre having steered France’s defending champions to within a point of retaining their Ligue 1 title.
Has that hand really ever been far from French football’s main domestic prize? PSG have stood in first place in the table after every match day this season.
This imminent title, all but sealed on Sunday given their goal-difference advantage along with their six-point clearance over chasing Lens with two fixtures left, will be the club’s ninth in the past 11 seasons.
Such a regular procession makes the dominance of France’s sole financial superclub over compatriots seem routine. In this odd, World Cup-interrupted season, perhaps it should not.
After all, other major leagues have seen patterns change, Napoli claiming the Italian title after 33 years without it, Real Madrid dethroned in Spain with fully four matches to spare, Bayern Munich on course to lose their Bundesliga Shield after a decade in possession.
Yet in Paris, there is genuine uncertainty, even trepidation about how exuberantly the 2023 French championship will be celebrated when Marquinhos lifts the trophy in front of a home crowd next month at the Parc des Princes.
The joy of retaining a title partly hinges on what promises it carries for the future. On the same weekend that Kylian Mbappe’s two handsome early goals at Auxerre tightened a familiar PSG grip on the Ligue 1 trophy, Manchester City were presenting their latest Premier League to supporters at the Etihad Stadium.
It is five titles in six years for City, a comparable run of domestic superiority in England to PSG’s in France, but with a very different vibe.
There was some high-spirited unruliness at City’s Etihad, fans spilling on the pitch to join in Sunday’s celebrations, but not the sort of disorder PSG players have come to watch out for from certain groups of their followers.
Two weeks ago, a band of ultras, PSG fans, gathered outside the club’s offices to chant insults targeting Lionel Messi, who had been suspended by the club for making a visit to Saudi Arabia that clashed with a rescheduled PSG training session. They moved on Neymar’s villa and demanded the Brazilian, who has been out with injury since February, leave the club he has played for over six seasons.
The disconnect between elements in the fan base and the superstars who, through 12 years of huge financial backing from their Qatar-based owners, have helped elevate PSG to domestic supremacy has become almost a constant. It is heard louder than ever in 2022-23.
Messi has been jeered at the Parc for a perceived drop in form in the period since he returned from his World Cup-winning month in Qatar in January. Yet he will end his second season with PSG as, by a distance, the leading provider of assists – 16 so far, in addition to his 15 goals – in Ligue 1.
Messi’s second season in France will be his last, his appetite for home crowd derision, albeit from a minority of PSG followers, exhausted, his opportunities for a next adventure, at 36, several – from the slender possibility of returning to Barcelona and guaranteed affection from home crowds, to a lucrative proposed deal with Al Hilal in Riyadh.
Whether Neymar, who is out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury but has two more years on his PSG contract, is still in Paris come August is less clear.
His relationship with Mbappe, the player most valued by the club’s executive hierarchy, is not one of close friendship, but their combination on the pitch has been key to establishing PSG as, at least, contenders for the trophy the club’s owners aspire to most: the Champions League.
Neymar, with Mbappe alongside him, was a principal driver in PSG reaching their only European Cup final, where they lost to Bayern three seasons ago.
They have fallen short in every season since, exiting at the last-16 stage for the past two campaigns and beaten by City in the 2021 semi-final. Failures in Europe count against PSG coaches.
This summer PSG will probably appoint the third different manager since Thomas Tuchel was sacked four months after receiving his silver medal in the Champions League. The current man in charge, Christophe Galtier, is expected to depart after the Ligue 1 celebrations.
The contrast with City here is plain. Pep Guardiola, guide to City’s last five Premier League titles, is already eyeing his sixth as their manager. And much more before that.
On the pitch at the Etihad on Sunday, some City fans held up a home-made banner: “The Treble Is On. 1 Down, 2 To Go.”
For Guardiola, Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, there is an FA Cup and European Cup final to be won in the next three and half weeks.
For Galtier, Mbappe, Neymar and Messi, there is a single trophy lift ahead, tinged with residual disappointments.
“It’s not been our best season,” acknowledged Marquinhos, “we were knocked out of the Champions League and the French Cup – those targets passed us by. Players, and fans, need to reflect on how to do better next season.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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.
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
More on Quran memorisation:
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Habib El Qalb
Assi Al Hallani
(Rotana)
Results
Stage Two:
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45
2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates
4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
General Classification:
1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03
2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04
3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06
4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10
5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12
Brief scores:
Everton 0
Leicester City 1
Vardy 58'
Squads
India: Kohli (c), Rahul, Shaw, Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari, Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Shami, Umesh, Siraj, Thakur
West Indies: Holder (c), Ambris, Bishoo, Brathwaite, Chase, Dowrich (wk), Gabriel, Hamilton, Hetmyer, Hope, Lewis, Paul, Powell, Roach, Warrican, Joseph
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MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Brief scores:
Manchester City 2
Gundogan 27', De Bruyne 85'
Crystal Palace 3
Schlupp 33', Townsend 35', Milivojevic 51' (pen)
Man of the Match: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace)
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Dubai World Cup Carnival card:
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 | 2,410 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
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.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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.”
