Manchester City have paved the way for a radical overhaul of their squad this summer by releasing Jesus Navas, Willy Caballero and Bacary Sagna.
They revealed the trio will go, taking the total of players in their thirties leaving the Etihad Stadium to five, with Pablo Zabaleta and Gael Clichy having already announced they were departing the club.
Each of the quintet is out of contract this summer, along with Yaya Toure, whose future remains unresolved but who is keen to extend his seven-season stay at Manchester.
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Read more
■ Leaving: Gael Clichy confirms his departure from Manchester City
■ Staying: While Man City say goodbye to Zabaleta, Aguero and Kompany show worth
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With Joe Hart likely to be sold, Caballero’s release means City will probably try to sign a new goalkeeper while, with all three of Navas, Zabaleta and Sagna going, they may require two right-backs unless manager Pep Guardiola promotes youngster Pablo Maffeo or uses midfielder Fernandinho in defence more often.
They are also expected to pursue a central defender and a first-choice left-back in a spending spree that could also include an extra attacker and which is intended to produce a younger, quicker squad.
Caballero, who had hoped to stay, will be remembered for earning City their last trophy by making a hat-trick of saves in the penalty shoot-out in the 2016 League Cup final against Liverpool.
The Argentine was signed by former manager Manuel Pellegrini from his old club Malaga but spent much of his three years in Manchester understudying first Hart and then Claudio Bravo.
Winger Navas was another Pellegrini recruit and another to experience success in the League Cup.
He scored his penalty in the shoot-out against Liverpool and managed City’s third goal in the 2014 final win over Sunderland.
While the World Cup winner did not find the net in the Premier League in his last three-and-a-half years in England, he struck twice in the 6-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, including a fine opener after 14 seconds.
He made 183 appearances in his four years at City and is now expected to rejoin his old club Sevilla.
Right-back Sagna arrived on a free transfer from Arsenal in 2014 and went on to play 85 games, becoming a regular in 2015/16 as City reached the Uefa Champions League semi-finals for the first time.
Director of football Txiki Begiristain paid tribute to each, telling the club website: “Bacary is an outstanding professional and has always set a wonderful example with his dedication and commitment.
“Willy is a special man – and his performances this season were of a consistently high standard.
“Working with Jesus has been a pleasure. His hard work, dedication, professionalism and desire to win have been apparent every single day.”
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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.
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.”
match info
Manchester United 3 (Martial 7', 44', 74')
Sheffield United 0
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
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2012/13 West Brom (loan): 35(15) - 17
2013/14 Chelsea: 2(2) - 0
2013/14 Everton (loan): 31(2) - 15
2014/15 Everton: 36(4) - 10
2015/16 Everton: 37(1) - 18
2016/17 Everton: 37(1) - 25
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Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
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Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
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Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
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Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
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Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
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Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
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Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
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Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
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More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
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