Al Hilal were on Monday linked with a world-record bid for Paris Saint-Germain forward and France captain Kylian Mbappe, one of the most high-profile footballers in the game. Here’s a look at the storied Saudi Pro League club reportedly seeking to seal a €300 million ($332m) deal.
Who are they?
Founded in 1957, Hilal are the record 18-times Saudi champions – nine titles clear of second on the list – who compete in the top tier of football in the kingdom. They are one of three ever-present teams in the division.
Hugely decorated, Hilal are considered one of the biggest clubs, if not the biggest, in Asia. Their primary colours are blue and white. They are one of four Saudi clubs majority-owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.
Where are they?
The club are based in Riyadh and play their home matches at the King Fahd International Stadium.
What did they do last season?
Hilal finished third in the standings, 13 points behind champions Al Ittihad. Argentine manager Ramon Diaz began the campaign in charge, but he resigned in May for personal reasons and was replaced by his son and assistant coach, Emiliano Diaz.
Hilal did, though, win the country’s premier cup competition, the King’s Cup, while they were runners-up in the Fifa Club World Cup and Asian Champions League. They lost to Real Madrid and Urawa Red Diamonds, respectively.
Who is their current manager?
Hilal appointed Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, the former Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Flamengo manager, this month. It is his second spell in charge following a seven-and-a-half-month stint from June 2018.
Jesus, 68, managed Fenerbahce last season, winning the Turkish Cup. His other notable trophies as coach include three Portuguese top-flight titles and the 2019 Copa Libertadores.
Who have they signed already this summer?
Hilal, whose two-year transfer embargo ended last month, have been active in this window, bringing in Portugal international Ruben Neves from Wolves for a reported club-record £47 million ($60m), ex-Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly, and Lazio’s Serbia international midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
The capital club are expected to also complete a deal for Brazilian winger Malcolm, from Zenit St Petersburg, while they are in talks with Fulham regarding Serbia striker Aleksander Mitrovic.
Who are their notable Saudi stars?
Hilal boast an abundance of local talent, as shown by their 12-strong contingent in the 26-man Saudi Arabia squad at last year’s Fifa World Cup in Qatar. Winger Salem Al Dawsari is a leading light who struck the winner in the shock victory in Doha against eventual champions Argentina.
Meanwhile, midfielder Salman Al Faraj captains both club and country and is ably supported in the middle of the pitch by Mohammed Kanno. Hilal’s full-backs, Yasser Al Shahrani and Saud Abdulhamid, are standouts, too.
In goal, they have the national team’s No 1 and No 2: Mohammed Al Owais and Abdullah Al Mayouf.
Past honours
As noted, Hilal have won the top-flight title 18 times, clinching their first in 1977 and their most recent two seasons ago. In fact, they have been champions in five of the past seven seasons.
Domestically, Hilal have won the King’s Cup 10 times, second only to Al Ahli (13), while they stand unrivalled in the now-defunct Crown Prince Cup, with 13 trophies.
Hilal also hold the record for most Asian Champions League crowns, on four (1991, 2000, 2019, 2021), with their nine appearances in the final unmatched by some way.
Prominent past players
Some of the most recognisable names to play for Hilal include Saudi strikers Sami Al Jaber and Yasser Al Qahtani, Brazil World Cup winner Rivelinho, Russia winger Andrei Kanchelskis, Italy’s Sebastian Giovinco, France striker Bafetimbi Gomis, Oman goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, South Korea full-back Lee Young-pyo and Sweden midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson.
Prominent past managers
Hilal’s list of former managers includes Brazil World Cup winner Mario Zagallo, Saudi trailblazer Khalil Al Zayani, UAE football standout Cosmin Olaroiu, Belgian Eric Gerets, Argentine Gabriel Calderon, former player Al Jaber, current Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic, and former Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim.
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Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
The%20specs
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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
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
Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
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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.”
Boston%20Strangler
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
'Nope'
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Non-oil%20trade
%3Cp%3ENon-oil%20trade%20between%20the%20UAE%20and%20Japan%20grew%20by%2034%20per%20cent%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20according%20to%20data%20from%20the%20Federal%20Competitiveness%20and%20Statistics%20Centre.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%2010%20years%2C%20it%20has%20reached%20a%20total%20of%20Dh524.4%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECars%20topped%20the%20list%20of%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20re-exported%20to%20Japan%20in%202022%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh1.3%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJewellery%20and%20ornaments%20amounted%20to%20Dh150%20million%20while%20precious%20metal%20scraps%20amounted%20to%20Dh105%20million.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERaw%20aluminium%20was%20ranked%20first%20among%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20exported%20to%20Japan.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETop%20of%20the%20list%20of%20commodities%20imported%20from%20Japan%20in%202022%20was%20cars%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh20.08%20billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
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