• Chelsea
• Didier Drogba
• Real Madrid
LONDON // Didier Drogba could be the first to act on growing unrest among Chelsea's first-team squad if Real Madrid's hierarchy back manager Jose Mourinho in his bid to sign a new striker.
A number of senior Chelsea players have become so disillusioned with the organisation of the club that they would be open to transfers at the end of the present campaign and the Ivorian is understood to be one of them, though there is even a small chance he may leave in the current transfer window, which shuts on January 31.
Though Drogba's status as one of the top-three best paid professionals at Stamford Bridge will limit the 32-year-old's options if he seeks to maintain his salary, the player has kept a strong relationship with Mourinho and is aware of his former manager's need for a striker.
With main striker Gonzalo Higuain likely to miss the rest of the season as he recovers from back surgery, Mourinho has been left with the out-of-form Karim Benzema as his only genuine frontman, with Cristiano Ronaldo being asked to provide most of the team's goals from the wings.
Whether Real will allow Mourinho to recruit Drogba is debatable. The Portuguese has had successive requests to add a third senior striker to his squad knocked back since arriving at the Bernabeu. Florentino Perez, the club president, has still to green light a replacement for Higuain.
Among a series of proposed signings, Mourinho has suggested bringing Ruud van Nistelrooy back from a year-long sojourn in Hamburg. So eager is Van Nistelrooy to return that the Dutchman has offered to pay half his transfer fee himself. Perez, however, is refusing to fund the other 50 per cent. Drogba's form this season has been significantly affected by the Chelsea medical department's failure to diagnose a debilitating bout of malaria last month.
He is understood to be one of several senior players with growing reservations about manager Carlo Ancelotti's training methods and the Italian's failure to stand up to Roman Abramovich's capricious manner of running the club.
Ray Wilkins's enforced sacking as assistant coach and the owner's decision to promote the underqualified Michael Emenalo as a replacement have also caused issues, while complaints have been made about fitness levels.
A failure to qualify for next season's Champions League - a real possibility following Chelsea's worst run of results for over a decade - would only intensify thoughts any players hold about an exit.
At the same time, the club's hierarchy is considering instigating a major overhaul of an ageing playing staff to halt the current malaise. Figures close to Abramovich have discussed the possibility of recruiting a centre-back, midfielder and forward with the intention of securing successors for John Terry, Frank Lampard and Drogba too.
Talks have already been held with the representatives of Hulk, the Brazil international striker. Chelsea officials were told that Porto would be prepared to sell the powerful 24-year-old for €35 million (Dh171.5m).
Further inquiries have been made over the availability of Sergio Aguero, the Atletico Madrid forward, though a move for either the Argentina international or Hulk is unlikely to be made before the summer.
A first recruit of the transfer window - Brazil defender David Luiz - could be in place before the week is out with negotiations ongoing in London yesterday.
Luis Filipe Vieira, the Benfica president, flew into the capital on Friday, dined with the player's agent Giuliano Bertolucci that evening, and was due to hold discussions with Chelsea on Saturday.
Though the two clubs entered negotiations with a divergence of €10m in offer and asking price, sources close to Vieira suggested that Benfica would accept a compromise fee of €25m for the 23-year-old after Chelsea improved their offer to around €22m..
Vieira returned to Lisbon last night, but is due to speak with Chelsea again tomorrow.
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Results
2-15pm: Commercial Bank Of Dubai – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Al Habash, Patrick Cosgrave (jockey), Bhupat Seemar (trainer)
2.45pm: Al Shafar Investment – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Day Approach, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash
3.15pm: Dubai Real estate Centre – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Celtic Prince, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
3.45pm: Jebel Ali Sprint by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Khuzaam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Shadwell – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Tenbury Wells, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Jebel Ali Stakes by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Lost Eden, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
5.15pm: Jebel Ali Racecourse – Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Rougher, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
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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Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
The White Lotus: Season three
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Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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MATCH INFO
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
THE SPECS – Honda CR-V Touring AWD
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Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
