Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Egypt star Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Marmoush, 25, has been one of Europe's most in-form forwards this season and joins the Premier League champions for a fee of €70 million plus €5m in add-ons.
City, who suffered a 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night to leave their Champions League hopes in the balance, have agreed a four-and-a-half year contract with the 35-cap Egypt international, keeping him at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2029.
Marmoush said: “This is a day I will never forget. To sign for Manchester City – one of the best teams in the world – is an amazing feeling. I am delighted, my family are so proud, and we are all very happy to be here in Manchester.
“With Pep [Guardiola], his technical staff and the world-class facilities here, players have everything they need to become better. That was really enticing for me when I had the chance to come here.
“And I cannot deny I also want to win trophies. City have been the most successful club in England for many, many years, so I know I am joining a winning environment and winning culture.
“I want to learn from the staff and my teammates, and I want to become a valued member of this winning team.
“I really am looking forward to getting going, meeting the other players and showing the Manchester City fans what I can do.”
City have been light on attacking options this season following Julian Alvarez's summer move to Atletico Madrid.
Marmoush is likely to fill that role in the squad, being able to play as an alternative to Erling Haaland up front but also comfortable as a foil to the Norwegian or even out wide.
Director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “Omar is an accomplished and exciting forward, and I’m delighted he’s joining us. He’s had an outstanding season, and every time we have watched him, he has influenced matches.
“He has all the attributes a top-class attacker requires. He has outstanding pace and awareness and he is exceptional in front of goal. He can also play a number of different positions, which is a really valuable asset.
“I also have no doubt that working with Pep and the technical staff here at City will see him further develop his superb attacking talent.”
Marmoush has been in sensational form for Frankfurt in the Bundesliga this season. His 24 goal involvements – 15 goals and nine assists – is only bettered across Europe's top five leagues by his international teammate Mohamed Salah.
Across all competitions, Marmoush has 20 goals and 11 assists in 30 games.
His arrival caps a busy week of incomings at the Etihad Stadium. Having endured a dismal run of form towards the end of 2024, City have moved decisively in the market in a bid to salvage their season.
Domestic results have improved of late, including a 6-0 thrashing of Ipswich Town at the weekend, but recent frailties returned when they saw a 2-0 lead turn into a 4-2 defeat in Paris on Wednesday night. Guardiola will hope the influx of new talent can help inspire a strong finish to the campaign.
The week started with the capture of Abdukodir Khusanov for a reported €40m with the 20-year-old agreeing a four-and-a-half-year deal. The central defender has won 18 caps for Uzbekistan and will become the first player from his country to play in the Premier League.
Khusanov began his professional career in Belarus playing for Energetik-BGU before making the move to Ligue 1 in 2023, making 31 appearances for Lens.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester City, a club that I have enjoyed watching for a long time,” said Khusanov. “This is one of the best teams in the world and I've come here to win trophies.
“This squad is full of the best players in the world, and I can’t wait to meet them and play alongside them.
“And of course Pep Guardiola is one of the greatest coaches ever and I am so excited to learn from him and improve my game even more. This is a very proud moment for me and my family to be joining a great club like Manchester City and I’m more than ready for this challenge.”
City then confirmed their second defensive signing in the space of 24 hours with the capture of highly rated centre-back Vitor Reis from Palmeiras for a reported fee of €35m on Tuesday.
Reis, 19, also signed a four-and-a-half-year contract, keeping him at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2029. Considered one of the top prospects in Brazil, Reis played 22 times for Palmeiras and represented his country’s Under-17s on eight occasions.
Reis, who will wear the No 22 shirt, said: “I’m excited to join Manchester City, one of the biggest clubs in the world. Everyone has seen the amazing achievements in recent seasons, and I want to make my mark as we seek more trophies.
“Working with Pep Guardiola is something every young player wants to do, and I know he can help me to develop into the best player I can be.
“City also have a lot of experience of working with Brazilian footballers and joining the likes of Ederson and Savinho in the squad will be a big help to me.”
One player moving towards the exit door at the Etihad Stadium is long-serving defender Kyle Walker.
The England right back has previously expressed his desire to move abroad for the final chapter in his career and the 34-year-old is reported to be in talks with AC Milan about an initial loan move.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
RESULTS
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more from Janine di Giovanni
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.”
Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
