Atletico Madrid (Spain)
How they qualified: Sixth-best team in the Uefa four-year coefficient rankings.
Manager: Diego Simeone. Long-serving Argentine is closing in on his 25th year in the Spanish capital where he has won eight major trophies including two La Liga titles, two Uefa Europa Leagues and one Uefa Super Cup.
Star player: Julian Alvarez. Signed from Manchester City last summer in deal worth up to €95 million, the Argentina World Cup winner was named Atletico's player of the season after contributing 29 goals and seven assists across all competitions.
One to watch: Alexander Sorloth. The 1.94m-tall-Norwegian striker finished the campaign as Atletico's top-scorer in La Liga with 20 goals, including a second-half hat-trick in the final game away to Girona.
Domestic season record: Finished third in La Liga, 12 points behind champions Barcelona.
Fixtures:
- June 15 (11pm kick-off UAE): PSG at Rose Bowl, Pasadena.
- June 20 (2am KO): Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field, Seattle.
- June 23 (11pm KO): Botafogo at Rose Bowl, Pasadena.
Seattle Sounders (United States)
How they qualified: 2022 Concacaf Champions League winners.
Manager: Brian Schmetzer. American coach has Seattle in his blood having been a player and coach in the club's various forms over the years. Since taking charge of the MLS Seattle on a permanent basis in 2016, he has won the Concacaf Champions League, the MLS Cup twice and the Western Conference on four occasions.
Star player: Albert Rusnak. Slovakian midfielder helped Seattle win the Champions League in his first season after moving from Real Salt Lake and was named the club's MVP for the 2024 campaign after 11 goals and 16 assists. Has seven goals in 37 caps for his country.
One to watch: Danny Musovski. Set to be Seattle's key forward with the club's all-time top scorer Jordan Morris struggling to be fit after suffering a hamstring injury. Endured a tough time last season due to injuries but has found form this time round, including finding the back of the net in five successive MLS games.
Domestic season record: Currently sixth in the Western Conference, nine points behind leaders Vancouver having played two games more.
Fixtures:
- June 16 (6am kick-off UAE): Botafogo at Lumen Field, Seattle.
- June 20 (2am KO): Atletico Madrid at Lumen Field, Seattle.
- June 23 (11pm KO): PSG at Lumen Field, Seattle.
Botafogo (Brazil)
How they qualified: 2024 Copa Libertadores winners.
Manager: Renato Paiva. Portuguese took charge of the Brazilians in February having spent most of HIS coaching career as part of the youth set-up at Benfica. Won the Ecuadorean Serie A title with Independiente del Valle in 2021. Previous coach Artur Jorge left for Qatari side Al Rayyan in January having led Botafogo to a historic Brazilian Serie A and Copa Libertadores double in 2024.
Star player: Igor Jesus. Versatile forward who made his name at UAE side Shabab Al Ahli – where he contributed 43 goals and 20 assists in 88 games – is now making a mark in South America after moving to Botafogo in 2024. Was then fast-tracked into the Brazil team, scoring on his debut against Chile. Now linked with a move to English club Nottingham Forest.
One to watch: Jair Cunha. Hard to miss the giant centre-half (Cunha is 1.97m tall) who The Athletic reported is part of a triple swoop by Forest that includes defensive teammate Cuiabiano and Jesus. The 20-year-old only moved to Botafogo from rivals Santos in February but the Brazil Under-20 international has quickly established himself as a first-team regular.
Domestic season record: Currently sixth in the Brazilian Serie A, six points behind leaders Flamengo.
Fixtures:
- June 16 (6am kick-off UAE): Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field, Seattle.
- June 20 (5am KO): PSG at Rose Bowl, Pasedena.
- June 23 (11pm KO): Atletico Madrid at Rose Bowl, Pasadena.
Paris Saint-Germain (France)
How they qualified: Second-best team in the Uefa four-year coefficient rankings.
Manager: Luis Enrique. Has just masterminded PSG to treble glory that included a first Uefa Champions League crown following a 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the final. It was the second treble of Luis Enrique's coaching career with the Spaniard having achieved the feat with Barcelona in 2015
Star player: Ousmane Dembele. Relished taking over the spotlight after Kylian Mbappe's exit to Real Madrid last summer. The France forward finished the campaign as joint top Ligue 1 scorer with 21 goals and 33 goals and 15 assists in 49 games across competitions.
One to watch: Desire Doue. Blasted his way into the headlines with a man-of-the-match display in the final win over Inter which saw the young Frenchman score two and set up another. It took the 20-year-old's tally to 15 goals and 16 assists in his debut season at PSG following his move from Rennes.
Domestic season record: Ligue 1 and French Cup winners.
Fixtures:
- June 15 (11pm kick-off UAE): Atletico Madrid at Rose Bowl, Pasadena.
- June 20 (5am KO): Botafogo at Rose Bowl, Pasedena.
- June 23 (11pm KO): Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field, Seattle.
Read more:
Group A guide: Al Ahly, Porto, Palmerias, Inter Miami
Group B guide: Atletico Madrid, Seattle Sounders, Botafogo, PSG
Group C guide: Benfica, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Bayern Munich
Group D guide: Flamengo, Esperance, Chelsea, Los Angeles FC
Group E guide: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Inter Milan
Group F guide: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD, Mamelodi Sundowns
Group G guide: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus
Group H guide: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, RB Salzburg
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
STAR%20WARS%20JEDI%3A%20SURVIVOR
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scoreline
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (53')
Atletico Madrid 1
Griezmann (57')
Sunday's fixtures
- Bournemouth v Southampton, 5.30pm
- Manchester City v West Ham United, 8pm
Fighting with My Family
Director: Stephen Merchant
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Jack Lowden, Olivia Bernstone, Elroy Powell
Four stars
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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.”
if you go
The flights
Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav.
The tour
While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).
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Story of 2017-18 so far and schedule to come
Roll of Honour
Who has won what so far in the West Asia rugby season?
Western Clubs Champions League
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons
Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup
Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners up: Dubai Exiles
Fixtures
Friday
West Asia Cup final
5pm, Bahrain (6pm UAE time), Bahrain v Dubai Exiles
West Asia Trophy final
3pm, The Sevens, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Sports City Eagles
Friday, April 13
UAE Premiership final
5pm, Al Ain, Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
