Football

Watch: Under pressure Real Madrid manager Zidane 'not thinking' about job security

Frenchman has presided over a difficult spell for the Spanish giants who are 19 points behind Barcelona in the Primera Liga.

The National

January 27, 2018

Zinedine Zidane has said he is not considering the possibility of getting sacked as Real Madrid manager following a disappointing spell for the Spanish club.

Madrid, the reigning Spanish, European and world champions, are 19 points behind Barcelona in the Primera Liga and were eliminated from the Copa del Rey this week to Leganes. It leaves Madrid with only the Uefa Champions League as their realistic chance of a trophy this year. They face Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 next month.

Madrid did retain the Fifa Club World Cup title in Abu Dhabi in December, but that has done little to ease the pressure on Zidane, but the Frenchman is not entertaining the idea that he could be relieved of his duties.

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Read more:

Hindsight shows the mistakes made by Real Madrid and Zidane

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"I do not think about that. I speak with the president and I keep on working with the same thrill thinking that tomorrow we are going to play a good football match and to try to win the three points," Zidane said ahead of Madrid's trip to third-placed Valencia on Saturday.

"Then, at the end, we will see what happens. Then (we will evaluate) the situation, if it has been good or it hasn't, if some things must be changed. This could be decided but not now.

"I am not happy being criticised, but that's the game. As I say, when we do not have good results, when there are so many negative things, all these must be accepted and I accepted it when I took my job.

"I took the job to win things but when there are difficult times you have to accept it. But it will not stop me from doing what I do now nor to think that we are going to change the situation."

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Two products to make at home

Toilet cleaner

1 cup baking soda 

1 cup castile soap

10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice) 

Method:

1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.

2. Add the essential oil to the mix.

Air Freshener

100ml water 

5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this) 

Method:

1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.

2. Shake well before use. 

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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.”