Less than a year after he arrived at Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes is making solid progress towards becoming a fan hero. The Portuguese international had heroes of his own.
“The first one was Ronaldinho,” he says of the former Barcelona and Brazil star. “When I grew up, the first player I really liked to watch was him. He had this kind of magic that nobody else had. He was just a different player. He went everywhere with a smile on his face, he’d take a tackle and still smiling, he gives a ’meg and he’d have a smile on his face, he loses, he has a smile on his face, he wins and he has a smile on his face.
“He’s just the sort of player you enjoy watching. It was really important for me watching him when I was growing up because when you are a kid, you have to enjoy your football. That is the time to enjoy football. And when you watch him, you understand what it means to enjoy football. For me he was the first player I ever watched and then, growing up, everyone knows Cristiano [Ronaldo] was my favourite player.”
Fernandes told the new UTD podcast, which is out on Monday, why Ronaldo became his favourite.
“I think it was a little bit of everything,” said the 26-year-old playmaker. “When Cristiano began to take his first steps in the national team, it was in the Euros in our home country [Euro 2004], so I was nine years old. That year stays with everyone because we lost the final in Portugal, we saw him crying after the final, he was a young boy who was starting to shine and from there I started to watch him.
“It wasn’t because he plays in my position, but it was the way he worked every day, the mentality he had, the capacity he had to give 100 per cent in every game at a high level, for me it was like a motivation, like you always have to do better. He was scoring goals every game, but game after game he was still trying to improve, get better. My mentality comes a little bit from understanding what sort of player you want to be. Do you want to be that player who has a good season, and maybe goes up and down, up and down, or do you want to be the player who always wants to be at the top?”
Fernandes enjoyed a superb start at United after arriving from Sporting, but, like his team, his form dipped at the end of the season and hasn’t been at the same level in 2020/21.
“OK, you will have bad games for sure, everyone has – Cristiano has had bad games, 100 per cent – but the point is, coming back from a bad game,” he said. “Coming back with the mentality that is, ‘OK, I didn’t play well in that last game and I really need to do well in this one’. The mentality to do better day after day is really important for me. I’m improving a lot because of this, and that was my biggest motivation.
"I can say there are three players in my position who I appreciate a lot. One of them is Andres Iniesta, for me he is the best one, the one I like most, and the other two are Zinedine Zidane and Andreas Pirlo. Pirlo started out as a No 10, then he started to move back to become a No 6, and I think my career will be a little bit like this! I hope not, because I prefer to play as a No 10, but every coach I’ve had in the past, they’ve all said the same – you will be a great No 6. I don’t know, I prefer to be a No 10 because I’m closer to the goals, I’m closer to assist my teammates and I like to play there, but Pirlo was a player who improved in all positions. He plays as a No 10, then he plays as a No 8 and he improves, then he plays as a No 6 and he improves. He was always good, he’s that kind of player. You look at him and his hair is always in the same place – and he has big hair, it’s impossible! He has that class, he has something different to everyone else. And Zidane … what a player. A masterclass No 10.”
Fernandes, United’s top scorer so far this season with six, also has words of admiration for former United player Paul Scholes and his 34-year-old compatriot Joao Moutinho, now at Wolves. He thinks he’s closer to Scholes than his aforementioned heroes.
“Paul Scholes was a guy who likes to be in the box, who likes to give an assist, who likes to score a lot of goals, and maybe the ones I said aren’t like that – like Pirlo scored some goals but maybe more from free-kicks, Zidane scored some goals, Iniesta – no-one really remembers Iniesta for scoring goals, you remember him for assists and everything else he did. It’s funny, I remember when we were about to play Club Brugge [at home] last season, and I was in the dining room with Fred, and on the television they were playing all Paul Scholes’ goals in a Manchester United shirt.
“We had eaten, but we just stayed there to watch all of the goals of his. And it was funny because I was talking to Fred, and I said to him, ‘You see what Paul Scholes is doing, you need to be more closer to the goal, because if not, you will never score!’ And then Fred, in that game, he scored twice! I appreciate Scholes a lot but maybe because, at that time for me in Portugal, when Scholes was playing at his best level, it was difficult for us to see English football, maybe it was because Spanish football was closer so it was more on the television, and we grew up with those names. Being realistic, with Iniesta I started to see him when I was 17, 18 years old. In the beginning most of the players I watched were from Portugal. I didn’t say this before but the first midfielder I really watched and really appreciated was Joao Moutinho who is now at Wolves. He was a player who, when he played for Porto, I would watch their games just to see him, the way he moves, the way he did his things. Because, for me at that time it was easier to see Moutinho than it was Paul Scholes or Iniesta or Zidane or Pirlo. With Pirlo, I first started watching him when I went to Italy at the age of 17, and at that point you can watch everything [football from around Europe]. When I was in Portugal and just watching the Portuguese league, for me Moutinho was the reference because in the national team at that time, it was about him. Before him, for me it was Rui Costa and Deco.
“In that national team from 2004, those were the best two we had – for me as a No 10, after them we never had a No 10 like those two. Moutinho is a No 8, and you see now he plays deeper. I always play as a No 8 there, because in Portugal now we play with three midfielders, with a No 6 and with two midfielders in front. Normally I’d be more playing as a No 10, or as we say in Portugal, an 8-and-a-half! There is one No 8 who goes that half extra in front, then the other No 8 who goes that extra half back.
“But after watching that video of Paul Scholes, I knew he was a player who scored a lot of goals – I remember him scoring a goal against Porto, it was not offside but they gave it offside, I don’t know if you remember it but it was here at Old Trafford in 2004, when Costinha scores right at the end of the game – that was lucky for Porto, and for Portuguese football as it was important for a club from Portugal to win the Champions League. Scholes was one of the best midfielders in the world. For England, a lot of people talk about Frank Lampard because he scored a lot of goals, of course, one of the best in England too, you have Steven Gerrard too, but I think Scholes is the one who makes more difference than anyone else. And before everyone starts talking about this, I haven’t seen every midfielder in England, OK! But I think in the last generation, those three were the three best ones, and for me Scholes was best.”
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
LOVE%20AGAIN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Jim%20Strouse%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Priyanka%20Chopra%20Jonas%2C%20Sam%20Heughan%2C%20Celine%20Dion%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on Quran memorisation:
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
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.”
