Pep Guardiola called for Manchester City to receive apologies from their accusers after their Champions League ban was overturned.
Guardiola said City had suffered reputational damage and were accused of cheating before the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that they should not be barred from European competitions for two years for what Uefa had deemed breaches of Financial Fair Play regulations.
That punishment was revoked on Monday in a decision that Guardiola said made him "incredibly happy" as he pronounced it "a great day" for the game.
But he felt many were too quick to jump to judgement about City and said: “We were damaged, we should be apologised [to]. The people say we cheated were lying, and many times. The presumption of innocence wasn’t there.
"Our prestige and reputation was damaged by accusations and we showed they were not true. People should accept it as we should complain and we didn’t. The other ones shouldn’t say much more on this. It was a good day for football as we play with the same rules as all the clubs in Europe. If we had broke the rules we’d be banned.”
He urged rival clubs to stop talking behind City’s back, adding: “Clubs whispering about us, I’d like it to finish. I’d like to say people look in our eyes and if you have to say it, do it face to face. They don’t understand how difficult it was at this time being under suspicion for something we haven't done.”
Guardiola, whose contract includes another year, had pledged to remain at City for the remainder of his deal, regardless of the outcome of the appeal and added: “Some people suggested we should play in League Two. I would have stayed.”
Guardiola was scathing about the La Liga president Javier Tebas, an outspoken critic of City who said CAS was “not up to standard” after Monday’s verdict.
“This guy must be so jealous of the Premier League, he’s an incredible legal expert,” the Catalan said sarcastically. “Next time we’ll ask them which court should judge us. We will be in the Champions League next season, Senor Tebas, because what we did, we did it properly.”
Eight Premier League clubs had sent a letter arguing that City should not play in Europe next season if their appeal had not been concluded in time.
“They all want fifth position for the Champions League, that I understand,” Guardiola added. “What they didn’t want for us to delay for next year. We were so clear, we agree, we want the resolution as soon as possible.”
Guardiola launched a passionate defence of City. He explained: “I love this club. I know the people here are working for a long time. When you do something wrong, I am the first to say we have to apologise or accept the [punishment].
"But it was not the case. I don’t want to apologise for anything. Manchester City don’t have to apologise because the three independent judges decide we have done everything properly.”
Guardiola also railed at the accusations that City have bought success by arguing their neighbours have outbid them for two players in recent years and that previous title winners have spent heavily as he argued that fans need not worry about his possible departure next summer.
“This club is incredibly solid, with Pep and without Pep,” he said. “Don’t be troubled. This club had success before my arrival here, with [Roberto] Mancini, with [Manuel] Pellegrini. They have incredible players. This is the reason why.
"We want to keep it and reinforce as much as we can. We had a lot of money but we want Alexis Sanchez and we could not afford it. We wanted Harry Maguire but we could not afford it.
“We could not pay like United pay so we have money but the other clubs have money do. We spend in the last decade more than in the past, yes, but 25 years ago Arsenal with Arsene Wenger spend a lot of money to be there.
"Manchester United spend a lot of money with Sir Alex Ferguson to be there. Being a good manager like I am, I am not enough without good players: no way. I am humble enough to accept that without my players I am nothing: zero.”
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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.”
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Specs
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
