Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. Rui Vieira / AP Photo
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. Rui Vieira / AP Photo

Mauricio Pochettino says it was ‘important for the players’ that he agreed a new Tottenham contract



Mauricio Pochettino hopes his new Tottenham Hotspur contract will help the club attract new stars this summer and keep their current ones.

Pochettino has agreed a two-year extension that will keep him at White Hart Lane until 2021, with the deal expected to be confirmed in the coming days.

The announcement ends speculation the Argentine could be prised away at the end of the season and has come as a relief to the players, who were growing nervous about their head coach's future.

See also:

• Monday cover: The waiting game

• Reaction: Kyle Walker on Mauricio Pochettino committing future to Tottenham: 'I'm over the moon'

• Richard Jolly: Just a matter of time for Leicester City's consistent performers and their impending Premier League title

• Steve Luckings: £5 million proves money well spent by Tottenham Hotspur on PFA Young Player of the Year Dele Alli

• Diego Forlan: Pochettino fits at Spurs, but capable of rising to a Man United or Real Madrid challenge

• The National debate: Can Tottenham catch Leicester City to win the Premier League title?

Key to Tottenham's progress now will be holding on to their brightest talents too, with the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Hugo Lloris all central to the team's title challenge this term.

Pochettino hopes committing himself to Spurs may persuade his players to follow suit and stability at the top can attract potential recruits.

“I think it is important for the players and the potential players that will come that they don’t hear rumours about whether Pochettino will be here or not,” he said.

“I think that is very important. We are ready to compete in the market and try to add the players that can help us in the future. Not that we need much because we have a good squad already.”

Pochettino insisted he did not ask for any assurances about players coming or going this summer.

“I did not need assurances. I didn’t ask for anything,” Pochettino said.

“In the moment that the president wanted to extend my contract he showed his ambition. The players are very happy here. I want to be involved in the future of the club.”

Tottenham play Chelsea on Monday night, knowing they must win at Stamford Bridge to keep the Premier League title race going to the penultimate weekend of the season. Anything less will confirm Leicester City as champions.

Spurs have not won at Stamford Bridge since February 1990 but Pochettino says his players need no extra motivation for a London derby.

“We spoke before with [assistant ]coach] Jesus [Perez] and the staff,” said Pochettino, speaking before Leicester’s game against Manchester United on Sunday, a match which ended 1-1.

“It is always difficult at the end of a season because of the fatigue – not only physical but mental – but the way we train every day, sometimes we have to stop them because it is too much.

“The motivation is massive ... But either way our players our very, very motivated to play on Monday against Chelsea.”

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COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Klipit

Started: 2022

Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant

Based: Dubai, UAE

Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain

Funding: $4 million

Investors: Privately/self-funded

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

Uefa Champioons League semi-final:

First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2

Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)

COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others

ALRAWABI SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

Creator: Tima Shomali

Starring: Tara Abboud, Kira Yaghnam, Tara Atalla

Rating: 4/5


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