Aleksandar Kolarov is on the brink of leaving Manchester City to join Roma, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
The 31-year-old left-back has won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups since moving to the Etihad Stadium from Lazio in 2010.
Kolarov is now set to return to the Italian capital, with Guardiola revealing "Kolarov is one step from going to Roma".
"I don't like to work with people who doesn't want to stay," the City manager said after seeing his side lose 2-0 to Manchester United in the International Champions Cup.
"Kola helped me a lot last season in terms of many, many things, but he has a big chance to come back to Rome where he was before.
"He spoke to me, with the club but especially to me, and said he would like to leave and I don't like to live still with players that don't want to stay.
"That's what it is the best option for everybody, especially for him.
"I wish him all the best because he is a really nice guy. We had an excellent relationship with him, I was very pleased to train him and I wish him and his family the best."
Kolarov's exit increases City's need for defensive reinforcements, having this summer released Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta and Gael Clichy.
Guardiola is hoping to bring in Real Madrid's Danilo, who the manager is understood to be open to playing in both full-back positions and defensive midfield.
Monaco left-back Benjamin Mendy is a long-standing target, but Guardiola is not getting het up about only bolstering the defence with Tottenham Hotspur right-back Kyle Walker to date.
"The season is so long," the City manager said. "Of course we would like to have the players as soon as possible.
"We have 11 months in front of us to play a lot of games so important to arrive when they can arrive, when it is possible to arrive. If not, we're going to find solutions.
"But we knew that from the beginning. Today we know the transfer market and how complicated it is for all the clubs.
"We're going to find the best solution to help us to improve, but both for example Ederson and Kyle [Walker] made an outstanding performance so the guys who came will help us a lot."
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Guardiola admits City "need defenders" and was asked why he had not moved for Leonardo Bonucci, a target last summer who recently left Juventus for AC Milan.
"What happened last season was last season," he said. "Bonucci is an exceptional player - an exception in terms of character, personality and everything. That's why he played in one of the best teams in the world, Juventus, now in Milan.
"But it is what it is. Sometimes it happens, situations happen. Sometimes not."
Meanwhile, City forward Thomas Agyepong has rejoined Dutch side NAC Breda on a season's loan.
The Ghana international played at the Rat Verlegh Stadion last season and will now return, with no prospect of first-team football under Guardiola next term.
NAC's technical director Hans Smulders said: "Last year he proved his value and especially in the final phase of the season he was of great value.
"Thomas is now in a familiar environment so he does not need to acclimatise. Our squad still has the need for a wing player and Thomas fills that position perfectly. We're glad we can keep him for another season."
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
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.”
Hales' batting career
Tests 11; Runs 573; 100s 0; 50s 5; Avg 27.38; Best 94
ODIs 58; Runs 1,957; 100s 5; 50s 11; Avg 36.24; Best 171
T20s 52; Runs 1,456; 100s 1; 50s 7; Avg 31.65; Best 116 not out
Match info
What: Fifa Club World Cup play-off
Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
