A week after Morocco’s dispiriting exit from the Africa Cup of Nations, more salt into the wounds.
As the standard-bearers for Arab and African football watch from afar as a tournament in which they were expected to reach the final continues without them, a long-term project appears to be slipping beyond their reach.
He is Brahim Diaz, the gifted Real Madrid playmaker, who spent Sunday evening wowing the Bernabeu stadium in a Madrid derby that had cast him unexpectedly into the limelight and put his international future under renewed discussion.
Brahim had been due to start against Atletico on the substitutes' bench. The winger Vinicius Junior then sustained an injury shortly before kick off and Brahim was thrust into the starting XI.
He has had a good 2024 so far. It was about to get even better.
Twenty minutes in, he scored the game’s opening goal, all nimble footwork and a composed, chipped finish. He might have added a second before half time, and when, with a little under 20 minutes left, Brahim was withdrawn by manager Carlo Ancelotti, there were some perplexed noises from around the Bernabeu.
He was, by a wide consensus, the home side’s man of the match. Without him, Real lost some of their momentum. They lost two points, too, conceding a late Atletico equaliser.
Real and Atletico have played each other three times already this calendar year, in three competitions; Brahim has been Real’s jewel in the duels. He came on nine minutes from full-time during a wild Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Riyadh, with Atletico leading 3-2.
A Brahim run opened up the space for an equaliser. A zippy, determined Brahim run and angled strike from 25 yards out sealed a 5-3 win in extra-time. Real went on to win the final against Barcelona.
This is Brahim Abdelkader Diaz’s second spell at Madrid, a fresh peak in a career that, for a player of only 24, has packed in a lot. He was the prodigy scouted by Manchester City at 16 and part of a Premier League-winning campaign before he turned 19.
He had a Liga winners’ medal at the end of his first full season, 2019/20, after joining Madrid. Seeking more regular starts, he joined AC Milan on loan, a deal that was renewed to extend to three seasons in all. He was a key contributor to Milan winning Serie A in 2022 and reaching the Champions League semi-final a year later.
Through much of this hopscotching from one leading club to another, there has been an continuing tug-of-war over Brahim’s senior international career.
He was born in Malaga, Spain, to a Moroccan father and Spanish mother, has represented Spain across several age groups as his career developed and played one senior friendly for Spain in 2021. None of which prohibits him exercising his right, as a Moroccan citizen, to play for the Atlas Lions.
Morocco’s manager, Walid Regragui, has spoken extensively to Brahim, and made persuading the player a priority from almost as soon as he took over the role 18 months ago.
A place in the 2022 World Cup squad was offered to Brahim, but he paused on it. Morocco promptly knocked out his native Spain and then Portugal to make history as the first African or Arab nation in a World Cup semi-final.
Regragui, who has successfully brought in a number of dual-nationals to his Morocco squad, was back in touch with Brahim after the Qatar World Cup.
Brahim explained he felt a genuine dilemma and wanted time to decide between Spain, where his former under-21s coach, Luis de la Fuente, took over as manager last year, and a soaring Morocco. He said the same to De la Fuente.
Both coaches have become weary of the waiting. Regragui can hardly have helped feeling frustrated over the past two weeks, while Brahim was shining for Madrid and Morocco’s Afcon campaign in Ivory Coast was turning sour.
Regragui has long envisaged – and described in detail to the player – the sort of creative role Brahim might play in a Morocco side with a clear shape and structure.
He would be the kind of game-changer that Morocco so lacked this time last week, when, with Hakim Ziyech and Sofiane Boufal missing with injury, they were unexpectedly outwitted in Afcon’s last-16 round by South Africa, 2-0 victors over Regragui’s World Cup heroes.
Word from those close to Brahim is the procrastination is soon to end. His Madrid form has convinced De la Fuente that Brahim would be an asset for Spain at this summer’s European Championship.
But, signalling his impatience with the unresolved tug-of-war, De la Fuente said: “Anyone who joins the Spain team has to come with total commitment, and not with the threat of ‘if you don’t pick me, I’ll go somewhere else’.”
Fitness permitting, the plan is that Spain call up Brahim for next month’s internationals, and that he answers “yes”, at the expense of Morocco.
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Scoreline
Syria 1-1 Australia
Syria Al Somah 85'
Australia Kruse 40'
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
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.”
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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