Cristiano Ronaldo ends 2023 with 54 goals as Al Nassr ease past Al Taawoun - in pictures

Cristiano Ronaldo capped his year as the leading goalscorer in world football with another goal as Al Nassr continued their fine form with a 4-1 victory at Al Taawoun on Saturday.

Already assured of his place at the top of the standings, Ronaldo made sure by adding his 54th goal of 2023 with a header in injury time at King Abdullah Stadium. The 38-year-old Portuguese forward finishes ahead of Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane and Paris Saint-Germain and France star Kylian Mbappe (both 52 goals).

Erling Haaland may have run Ronaldo close but a foot injury in recent weeks left the Manchester City and Norway striker on 50 goals.

Ronaldo's goal on Saturday was his 20th in just 18 Saudi Pro League games this season and takes his overall tally since moving to the club to 38 in 44 appearances across all competitions.

It also completed a fine fightback from Nassr, who fell behind to Aschraf El Mahdioui's 13th-minute goal when the Dutch midfielder tapped in after Nassr goalkeeper Nawaf Al Aqidi had saved his initial penalty.

Nassr got themselves level in the 26th minute as Marcelo Brozovic finished off a lovely team move, the Croatian midfielder running onto the end of Anderson Talisca's through-ball.

The Riyadh giants took the lead nine minutes later when Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte rose to head home Brozovic's corner.

With the lead established, Nassr continued to dominate and extended their advantage five minutes after the restart as Otavio capitalised on a defensive mistake to score from inside the area.

Ronaldo had several chances to extend Nassr's lead and add to his record but he shot wide after rounding the goalkeeper and then hit the post with another effort. His goal eventually came in the first minute of injury time when he rose highest to nod home Seko Fofana's cross.

Following the match, Ronaldo referred to his year-long goal tally and his late goal against Al Taawoun, writing on Instagram: "54 – I’ll say when it’s finished!"

The victory cements Nassr in second place in the Saudi Pro League table and provides a valuable three points if they are to have any chance of closing down Al Hilal; the runaway leaders hold a seven-point advantage.

Taawoun remain in fourth following a superb season so far, although back-to-back defeats have halted their momentum.

How to improve Arabic reading in early years

One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient

The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers

Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades

Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic

First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations

Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades

Improve the appearance of textbooks

Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings

Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught

Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar

Breast cancer in men: the facts

1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.

2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.

3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.

4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.

5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor

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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Cristiano Ronaldo ends 2023 with 54 goals as Al Nassr ease past Al Taawoun - in pictures

Portuguese forward completes year as most prolific player in world football

How to improve Arabic reading in early years

Breast cancer in men: the facts

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