Brazilian midfielder Willian has admitted his Chelsea career is likely to end this summer after negotiations collapsed over a new contract.
Willian, 31, has been at Chelsea since 2013 and has largely been a mainstay in the first team, making 329 appearances in all competitions, scoring 59 goals and assisting another 59.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has publicly spoken of his desire to tie Willian down to a new contract, stressing the importance fo the Brazilian's experience and quality to his young squad.
However, talks broke down over an extension to the deal that is set to expire on June 30, with Willian holding out for a three-year deal while Chelsea were only prepared to offer two years. The offer was already a break from the norm for the Blues, who typically offer one-year contracts to players over the age of 30.
Given the stand-off, Willian revealed in an interview with Fox Sports show Expediente Futebol that his time at Stamford Bridge is almost up.
"I've built something fantastic at Chelsea," he said. "I'm especially fond of the fans and the people that work there, and I've felt very settled.
"Everyone knows my contract is up in a few months and it looks like it'll be difficult to secure an extension. I think it's unlikely that I'll renew because Chelsea offered me a two-year deal, I asked for three and it ended there.
"There were no more talks or negotiations. Chelsea said that three years would be impossible, so at the moment it seems unlikely that I'll extend, but nothing is impossible.
"We don't know what might happen. We might suddenly reach an agreement, but what I can say today is that my contract is up and I'll be free to negotiate with any club."
Willian, who has won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and the 2019 Europa League with Chelsea, stated that his aim is to remain in Europe for next season. The Brazilian was attracting interest from Barcelona last year, with Chelsea rejecting a series of bids from the Spanish giants.
"At the moment I'm not thinking about going back to Brazil and my aim is to stay in Europe," said Willian, who started his career at Corinthians in Brazil before moving to Ukraine to play for Shakhtar Donetsk and later switched to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala prior to joining Chelsea.
"I think there's still scope for me to do that in the current market and continue playing at the top level for a few more years. My target is to remain in Europe."
Premier League rivals Arsenal and Tottenham have both been linked with a move for Willian, although the delayed end to the Premier League season - which is certain to go on beyond June 30 - due to the coronavirus pandemic is sure to complicate contract situations for players with expiring deals.
Willian's announcement comes the week after fellow Chelsea winger Pedro confirmed that he would also be leaving the club at the end of his contract this summer.
To help fill the voids left by the pair, Chelsea have already moved to sign Ajax star Hakim Ziyech for £40 million (Dh191m), with the Morocco international joining the club at the end of the season.
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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.”
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
Avatar: Fire and Ash
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Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Director: Laxman Utekar
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The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
