Real Madrid sealed their 15th European Cup after they beat Germany's Borussia Dortmund 2-0 during a tightly contested Champions League final at Wembley Stadium in London.
Madrid were under pressure for much of the game, as Dortmund failed to put away several big chances, particularly in the first half.
However, Madrid fought back, with defender Dani Carvajal opening the scoring as he headed in with 15 minutes of the game remaining.
Real's Brazilian forward Vinicius slotted in the second when Dortmund lost possession outside their box in the 83rd minute.
The goal sparked rapturous celebrations among the Madrid fans who had travelled to London. Dortmund supporters, who had been a wall of noise throughout the game, were silenced.
The result was hard on the German side who missed several good first-half chances, the best of which was Niclas Fuellkrug hitting the post from close range.
Carlo Ancelotti had warned his Real players on the eve of the final that they would play with fear and they certainly suffered from stage fright for large parts of the game – eventually finding a way to win.
Thibaut Courtois was making his first Champions League appearance of the season having recovered from two serious knee injuries and his saves kept Madrid in the game until they struck themselves.
Wembley Stadium confirmed arrests were made after the game was halted inside the opening minute as three separate pitch invaders evaded security.
When the game got back under way it was Borussia Dortmund, watched on by former boss Jurgen Klopp, who were the better side but a gritty Real performance ultimately saw them come out on top once more.
Madrid have not lost a major European final since losing the Cup Winners' Cup to Sir Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen in 1983 but there were times here when they looked set to fall short.
Julian Brandt had a decent early chance but fluffed his lines in what was to become a familiar feeling for Edin Terzic's side.
They were soon left ruing a great opportunity to break the deadlock as Karim Adeyemi raced through a gaping hole in the Madrid defence but took a touch far too wide as he tried to round Courtois.
Still the chances came for the underdogs from the Bundesliga, this time Fullkrug hitting the inside of the post after Ian Maatsen had too easily won the ball back from the otherwise impressive Federico Valverde.
Real were not at the races but Dortmund could not take advantage of their early dominance, Courtois this time saving well from Adeyemi, whose pace was causing plenty of problems.
Frustration was starting to build among the Madrid ranks as Vinicius was booked for a late challenge on Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Courtois was less convincing as he pushed away a Marcel Sabitzer strike from outside the box that bounced in front of the Belgium No 1.
Real began to show signs of life soon after the interval, Kobel saving well from a Toni Kroos free-kick before a Carvajal header also came close to breaking the deadlock.
It was not long, however, until Courtois was back in action as he saved well from a Fulkrug header, with Bellingham unable to make any contact when he had a chance soon after for Madrid.
Dortmund's defence had not learnt their lesson though as Carvajal guided a Kroos corner past Kobel to put Ancelotti's men in front with 16 minutes remaining.
Kobel did well to keep out another Kroos free-kick as well as a curling strike from Eduardo Camavinga and a Nacho header with Real looking to make sure of the result in the late stages.
But there was nothing he could do as the lead was doubled courtesy of Vinicius, who collected and dispatched Bellingham's pass after a misplaced ball from Maatsen.
Fullkrug thought he had pulled one back for Dortmund but his effort was offside.
Carvajal, Modric, Nacho and the retiring Kroos all celebrated winning a record-equalling sixth European Cup as Dortmund – much like their defeat in the final to Bayern Munich at Wembley 11 years ago – were left wondering what might have been.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
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.”
Look%20Both%20Ways
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Wanuri%20Kahiu%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Lili%20Reinhart%2C%20Danny%20Ramirez%2C%20David%20Corenswet%2C%20Luke%20Wilson%2C%20Nia%20Long%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EMen%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Saif%20Al%20Zaabi%2C%20Salem%20Al%20Marzooqi%2C%20Zayed%20Al%20Ansaari%2C%20Saud%20Abdulaziz%20Rahmatalla%2C%20Adel%20Shanbih%2C%20Ahmed%20Khamis%20Al%20Blooshi%2C%20Abdalla%20Al%20Naqbi%2C%20Khaled%20Al%20Hammadi%2C%20Mohammed%20Khamis%20Khalaf%2C%20Mohammad%20Fahad%2C%20Abdulla%20Al%20Arimi.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWomen%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mozah%20Al%20Zeyoudi%2C%20Haifa%20Al%20Naqbi%2C%20Ayesha%20Al%20Mutaiwei.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
