Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City not so much completed the circle as cemented it shut.
Cemented their place in history; their manager’s too. A first Fifa Club World Cup crown was theirs on a stifling but relatively straightforward Friday night in Jeddah – Fluminense of Brazil fought off with four unanswered goals.
Club World Cup title No 1 elevated City to five trophies in an astonishing 2023, the English and European champions now officially global supremos, as well.
Surely City sit among the top teams of recent memory. They’re maybe comparable even to the finest of much farther back also.
Once dubbed “Mr Club World Cup” in Germany, success in Saudi Arabia means Guardiola now stands alone as the manager with most titles. This was his fourth, taking him clear of old friend and competitive foe Carlo Ancelotti, adding to the glories masterminded at Barcelona, twice, and Bayern Munich.
Fluminense, really, couldn't compete with that. The emboldened and battle-hardened Brazilians were said to have embraced Friday as perhaps the greatest occasion of the club’s 121-year history. They arrived in the kingdom in the afterglow of an inaugural Copa Libertadores title, sealed last month and setting in motion a shot at arguably the most coveted crown in South American club football.
Their travelling support certainly suggested so; estimates tallied those to have made the trek from Rio de Janeiro to Jeddah as anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000. At an almost sell-out King Abdullah Sports City stadium, although still outnumbered by the City contingent, they made their presence felt.
Yet they had barely finished roaring the start of proceedings when their team fell behind. In the opening minute, Nathan Ake advanced and, unchallenged, curled a fine left-footed effort that smacked off the upright.
With goalkeeper Fabio flailing to his right, the ball fell conveniently into the path of Julian Alvarez, who improvised well to chest into the empty net.
It would not have been lost on the forward, nor the Fluminense faithful stacked behind the goal, that an Argentine had struck the first blow. If City have enjoyed an incredible five trophies in 2023, by stretching back a month further, Alvarez could point to a sixth, the ultimate prize of the World Cup having been secured not far from here, in Qatar.
To their credit, Fluminense weren’t rattled. They simply settled into their precise and penetrating – even at times seemingly perilous – passing patterns. Guardiola prepared his team pre-match to take on a team “we've never faced like that” before, and Fluminense’s enterprise nearly paid off.
German Cano, the Copa Libertadores Golden Boot winner, thought he had sprung City’s offside trap and, as he rounded Ederson, he was felled by the Brazilian goalkeeper. Having pointed initially to the spot, the referee was promptly alerted to the raised flag for offside. Replays showed Cano was a fraction beyond the City back line.
Then, just before the half hour, City made it two. Phil Foden was slipped in down the inside left channel, his attempted square ball deflecting off Fluminense captain Nino and over Fabio. It nestled inside the far post.
Still, Fernando Diniz’s men did not wilt. Perhaps they were stung by that now infamous article in a British newspaper this week, which compared them to a charity side. It cited seven players aged 30 and more, including 43-year-old Fabio and 40 year-old Felipe Melo. Melo mentioned the perceived slur during Thursday’s press briefing.
One of his younger teammates would have dragged back Fluminense into the contest not long from half-time, but Ederson did brilliantly to claw away Jhon Arias’ downward header. At the other end, Fabio rivalled his compatriot by keeping out Jack Grealish’s arcing effort at full stretch.
Fabio was called into action three times more at the beginning of the second half. This time, he repelled Foden, then Alvarez’s rebound, then Foden again.
Sensing a growing frustration among his colleagues, Marcelo was booked for kicking Rico Lewis and was soon substituted. Back at the club where he began his professional career, eons ago in 2005, the former Real Madrid full-back, 35, could conceivably never have another similar opportunity to add to his already generous Club World Cup collection. Like Guardiola, he has a quartet of winner’s medals.
City, though, had title No 5 since May, rounded off by Foden’s sliding finish 18 minutes from time and Alvarez’s final flourish, and irrespective of a flashpoint upon the whistle between Melo and Kyle Walker.
A Premier League, a Uefa Champions League – also a first – an FA Cup, a Uefa Super Cup and, now, a Club World Cup. Seven months to “complete the circle” in Guardiola’s seventh year in charge.
Domestic matters, resuming next Wednesday at Goodison Park when City may be as much as 10 points off the Premier League summit, can wait; the impact of the loss of Rodri, too, late on through injury. On Friday night, Guardiola’s gunslingers were world champions.
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
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.”
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
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T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
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More on Quran memorisation:
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
