Real Madrid are confident that Jose Mourinho can bring a much-needed greater degree of stability to the Bernebeu and help the Spanish giants close the gap on their arch-rivals Barcelona.
Real have gained a reputation for preferring individual brilliance to teamwork as the 11 coaches they have employed in the past eight years have striven to bring more and more "Galacticos" to the club.
Florentino Perez, who is in his second spell as the club president, having two years ago reassumed the role he relinquished in 2006, has watched a succession of big names come and go in their attempts to keep one of the world's most famous teams in the vanguard of the global game.
The president believes Mourinho can stay longer than most and build on the trophy-winning days he has spent with Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan.
"Jose is the best," Perez said during a visit to Abu Dhabi to open the club's latest academy at the capital's Baniyas club yesterday.
"We want him to stay as long as possible and help us to get where we want to be."
Where exactly that is was lost in translation as Perez's Spanish comments were turned firstly into Arabic and then English, but further inquiries prompted him to admit that Barca currently hold the balance of power in what has been a prolonged battle for domestic and international supremacy.
Real trail Barca by five points with 15 Primera Liga fixtures remaining of the season.
Mourinho, in his first season in charge, has turned the Bernabeu into a fortress, engineering victories in all 11 home games, but a weakness on their travels has seen them surrender ground in what, again, is a two-horse title race.
Perez has not yet given up on the possibility of bridging that gap on the men from Camp Nou and extending a record haul of league titles to 32, but he conceded that knockout competitions, principally the Champions League, may now represent the most likely route to silverware.
With the team preparing for next week's last 16 encounter at Lyon, Perez, whose club have been crowned champions of Europe a record nine times, said: "The European Cup has always been close to our hearts and it still is, but we cannot afford to put that ahead of any other matches we face at this stage of the season.
"The aim at our club is to win every match in every competition we play in and that is still the case. At this moment we are in the middle of several competitions and we have to treat them all seriously."
Real, according to their president, have no intention of slowing down in their pursuit of world record transfers such as Zinedine Zidane, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo but yesterday's venture may one day, Perez believes, produce signings at the other end of the financial scale.
Asked whether the launching of a UAE branch of the Real Madrid Foundation to rival the academies already set up in the country by Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal and AC Milan, Perez said: "Players of all colours and all religions are welcome in Madrid.
"Our only concern is the quality of the player. If somebody from this new academy proves, in the distant future, to be good enough to play for Real Madrid, we will sign him."
"The aim when we set up these academies in all parts of the world is to reach the children and help to educate them in how to play the game to a high standard. We hope that proves to be the case in Abu Dhabi."
Real were welcomed to the capital by Wael Tawil, the chief executive of Baniyas Holding, parent company of the Abu Dhabi club.
He said: "The efforts of the academy will be employed for the benefit of stimulating all cultural aspects relating to sport. The intention is to develop local talent and prepare those talents for a brighter future.
"That will enable us to assert the UAE's position as a regional sports hub."
wjohnson@thenational.ae
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
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Company%20profile
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