Naby Keita has spoken of his "huge desire to win" as he begins life as Liverpool's first No 8 since Steven Gerrard - a player he used to pretend to be as a child.
Keita formally completed his move to the Merseyside outfit from RB Leipzig on July 1 after a deal was agreed between the clubs in August last year.
Liverpool last month announced he been given the number former captain Gerrard wore with such distinction at the club before moving to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2015, and which had not been allocated to anyone since.
It was also revealed Gerrard had made a surprise presentation to Keita of a No 8 shirt at Liverpool's Melwood training ground last August.
It was quite a moment for the 23-year-old Guinea midfielder, who has joined a club "loved" by his father, Sekou.
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Speaking this week, Keita said: "He (his father) has spoken to me loads since I signed for Liverpool about how much he loved them. As a kid we used to play wearing a Liverpool shirt in the streets. He had that love of Liverpool then.
"Because I'm a midfielder and Gerrard was always the boss of the side, it couldn't be anyone else other than Steven Gerrard - that's who you'd be when you were playing, wanting to be like him."
He added of the presentation by Gerrard, who left his job with Liverpool's academy this summer to manage Rangers: "It was a big shock. Steven said, 'Everyone's going to be here for you, to help you develop'.
"I'm aware it's a big number here and I'm very excited to wear it. But it's also something I'm not going to put any extra pressure on myself with."
While expressing his admiration for the skill of Andres Iniesta, Keita - also a big fan of another former Barcelona man, Deco - has stressed his belief that "as a midfielder you need to have that aggression as part of your game".
And he said when asked to describe himself as a player: "I'm someone who has this real winning mentality. I have a huge desire to win.
"That's why I'm aggressive in a positive sense on the field."
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool finished fourth in the Premier League last season, 25 points behind champions Manchester City.
Asked if he felt his new club have the quality of squad to compete with City this season, Keita said: "I know we have enough quality.
"It's all about having the mindset and desire to want it and fight for it enough. I think that goes as long way, having that desire and belief."
Keita was sent off four times last season, and having been reminded of that, he said it was "something I need to be aware about" before adding: "Part of my game is winning the ball back and that's all I was trying to do."
And he said when asked about the physicality of the Premier League: "I don't think that physical aspect is going to have a negative effect on me at all.
"I've watched a lot of English football and I'm getting used to this kind of physical aspect. Through the process of the pre-season friendlies, hopefully I'll be up to speed with it. Winning the ball back is something I like."
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Director: Jim Strouse
Stars: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sam Heughan, Celine Dion
Rating: 2/5
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Creator: Ramez Galal
Starring: Ramez Galal
Streaming on: MBC Shahid
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs: 2019 Audi A8
Price From Dh390,000
Engine 3.0L V6 turbo
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Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
South Africa's T20 squad
Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.
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.”
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
