Former Italy coach Roberto Mancini has been linked with the Saudi Arabia job. Reuters
Former Italy coach Roberto Mancini has been linked with the Saudi Arabia job. Reuters
Former Italy coach Roberto Mancini has been linked with the Saudi Arabia job. Reuters
Former Italy coach Roberto Mancini has been linked with the Saudi Arabia job. Reuters

Sport

Football

Roberto Mancini defends decision to quit Italy and opens door to Saudi Arabia

Euro 2020-winning manager is reportedly top target to lead Green Falcons

The National

August 15, 2023

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Roberto Mancini has admitted he would gladly accept a lucrative offer to coach Saudi Arabia – but has denied that is the reason for his sudden and controversial decision to quit the Italy job.

Mancini, who led the Azzurri to Euro 2020 glory and two third-placed finishes in the Nations League, quit his post on Sunday, drawing widespread criticism from the Italian media.

His decision came amid strong reports linking him to the Saudi Arabia job, with the Saudi FA reportedly ready to offer the 58-year-old a salary of €25 million a year.

In a series of interviews, Mancini said he is open to offers but insisted he had quit because of a conflict with the head of Italy's football federation, Gabriele Gravina, not because he had already agreed to join the flow of footballing talent being lured to the Gulf state.

“I'm a football manager and when I receive an offer that I like I will accept it. But that's not why I quit the national team,” Mancini told Corriere Dello Sport.

“Italy was always the number one for me. After many years I've received plenty of offers which I will look at in the coming weeks but right now there is nothing solid.

“I'm a manager and I can't just stop … but Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with it.”

  • Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
    Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
  • Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
    Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
  • Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
    Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
  • Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
    Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
  • Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
    Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
  • Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
    Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
  • Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
    Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
  • Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
    Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
  • Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.
    Italian fans celebrate in Rome after winning the Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley.

Despite success in London in 2020, the Azzurri subsequently failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar following a catastrophic play-off defeat to North Macedonia.

Their recent results have also been mixed, with a home defeat to England in Euro 2024 qualifying followed by a Nations League loss to Spain and a win over the Netherlands.

Mancini claims the Italian FA was looking to make changes to his coaching team, prompting his decision to stand down.

“Have you ever seen the head of the federation change a manager's coaching staff? I'm the one who should be making changes,” he told La Repubblica.

“The truth is that we've been on a different wavelength for a while. But why make changes to my staff? At that point he should have sacked me … if he wanted to keep me, he could have but he didn't want to.”

Italy face North Macedonia and Ukraine in the Euro 2024 qualifiers next month and the federation is searching for an experienced coach who can help them avoid the humiliation of missing a second successive major tournament.

Luciano Spalletti, Serie A winner with Napoli last season, and former Italy coach Antonio Conte are the favourites.

The Green Falcons, meanwhile, have been without a full-time coach since March when Herve Renard left his post to take over the France women's team.

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.”

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