After the conclusion of Europe's domestic competitions, attention now turns to the resumption of the Champions League.
Having been interrupted by football's lockdown following the coronavirus outbreak, four last 16 ties still need to be resolved, including the blockbuster tie of the round between Manchester City and Real Madrid.
City hold a 2-1 advantage courtesy of their come-from-behind win at the Bernabeu in February and will aim to complete the job at the Etihad Stadium on Friday.
Madrid, who have won a record 13 European Cups, enter the second leg riding the momentum of their first La Liga triumph since 2017, while City will want to shake off the disappointment of handing the Premier League title to Liverpool.
However, domestic fortunes are unlikely to have much bearing on Friday's match as two teams packed with world class players battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals. And there are a number of duels all over the pitch that could prove decisive in the outcome of the tie.
Kevin De Bruyne v Casemiro
De Bruyne is enjoying another exemplary campaign, cementing his status as one of the best midfielders in the world. The Belgian has contributed 15 goals and 23 assists in 46 games so far this season and was man of the match in the first leg against Real Madrid.
De Bruyne, 29, will once again be expected to lead by example during the second leg and it will be the primary role of Casemiro to disrupt City's most influential player. Real Madrid's destroyer-in-chief is one of the best defensive midfielders in the business and if he can limit De Bruyne's influence, it will go a long way to helping his side reach the quarter-finals.
Raheem Sterling v Dani Carvajal
Sterling may have been limited to just 17 minutes of the first leg, but that's all he needed to make an impact as it was Carvajal's foul on the England forward that led to De Bruyne's match-winning penalty.
Sterling, 25, enters the game with 30 goals to his name and will be one of City's most dangerous attacking threats on the night. Likely to be deployed on the left side of the attack, it will fall on the right side of Real Madrid's defence to stop him in his tracks.
Carvajal will need to fare better than he did during Sterling's brief Bernabeu cameo, otherwise it could be a long night for the right-back.
Kyle Walker v Eden Hazard
Two players who faced each other on numerous occasions during Hazard's seven-year spell at Chelsea, the Belgian forward missed the first leg with the injury that has severely limited his debut season with Real Madrid.
Hazard will be determined to salvage something from this campaign, and what better way than by leading his team into the Champions League quarters? He has delivered match-winning performances throughout his career, primarily as a left-sided forward, so it will be Walker tasked with containing Hazard.
Walker has the pace and athleticism to keep track of Hazard but whether he can handle the Belgian's movement and trickery will soon be discovered.
Aymeric Laporte v Karim Benzema
After eight years spent in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema has taken centre-stage this season, scoring 26 goals and creating 11 assists across 46 appearances. Zinedine Zidane rates his fellow Frenchman as the best No 9 in the world, and while that can be easily debated, Benzema is no doubt vitally important to Real Madrid's hopes of beating City.
Laporte, meanwhile, has proved his importance to City once again this season, as much through his absence and his presence. The French defender missed the first half of the campaign with injury but is now back to top form and if he can contain Benzema for 90 minutes, then it will hold City in good stead to progress.
Pep Guardiola v Zinedine Zidane
With a tie as finely-balanced as this one, the selection and tactical decisions made by the men in the dugout could prove just as important as the actions of the 22 players out on the pitch.
Guardiola is rightly regarded as one of the finest managers in football history but there is no escaping the fact that his recent Champions League record pales in comparison to Zidane's.
The Spaniard's last European Cup came with his all-conquering Barcelona side in 2011. In the time since, Zidane became the first manager to win the Champions League three years in succession.
Zidane knows better than any manager how to win two-legged Champions League ties, so the Frenchman will have a clear picture of how to approach the match at the Etihad.
However, Guardiola did get the better of his contemporary in the first leg and will be confident that he holds the keys to victory.
It all lends itself to what should be a fascinating contest between two fine teams.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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.”
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Last five meetings
2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil
2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil
1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil
1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil
1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil
Note: All friendlies
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
