Dutch striker Robin van Persie was given a hero’s welcome by fans as he arrived in Istanbul to join Turkish club Fenerbahce on an eagerly-awaited transfer from Manchester United.
Van Persie landed at Sabiha Gokcen airport after flying in on a private jet and was given a typically raucous reception by hundreds of supporters clad in the yellow and navy blue colours of the club.
Accompanied by his wife Bouchra Elbali and their two children, he walked out of the airport into a cacophony of chanting from supporters, with the air thick with the smoke from flares lit by the fans.
Apparently unfazed by the scenes, he squeezed his way though the crowds of fans and photographers to begin his new life in Turkey.
In a sign of his importance for the club, his entire arrival was covered live on the club’s in-house TV channel Fenerbahce TV, including the landing of the plane and passport control.
“I have seen a lot over the years but I have never seen anything like this,” van Persie told the supporters.
“I hope that I’m going to make you happy ... it’s an honour.”
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Before leaving Manchester airport, van Persie had posted pictures on social media of himself, already wearing a Fenerbahce scarf, and his family waving goodbye on the tarmac and also one of him at the controls of the plane.
Fenerbahce’s chairman Aziz Yildirim had on Saturday announced the transfer of van Persie was a done deal and, according to Turkish press reports, his formal signing ceremony is expected on Monday.
Fenerbahce — runners up to fierce Istanbul rivals Galatasaray last season in the championship — have gone on a spending spree in a bid to dominate the Super Lig and be a real contender in Europe.
Earlier this week, Fenerbahce signed Portuguese winger Nani also from United for €6m (Dh24.4m) and in June bought Danish centre-back Simon Kjaer from French side Lille.
According to press reports, van Persie’s transfer fee will be €4.7m (Dh19m).
Van Persie, 31, made 105 appearances and scored 58 goals during his three years at Manchester United from August 2012.
But his last season was marred by an ankle ligament injury and speculation of tension between himself and Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal, who had guided van Persie and his countrymen to third place in the World Cup.
In Turkey, van Persie will be lining up against another fellow member of the Netherlands’ so-called “golden generation”, Wesley Sneijder, who plays for arch rivals Galatasaray.
Fenerbahce’s flurry of transfer market activity is being masterminded by its well-respected new Italian sporting director Giuliano Terraneo who arrived in May on a mission to make the club a European football force.
The club’s new manager this season is the Portuguese Vitor Pereira, a former Porto and Olympiakos coach.
Turkish press reports said van Persie may not represent the end of Fenerbahce’s ambition, with the club eyeing Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Ramires and even van Persie’s fellow countryman Arjen Robben of Bayern Munich.
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Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
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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Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
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Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
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