The explosiveness was not confined to Gareth Bale’s left foot. Few players respond to a match-winning cameo in a Uefa Champions League final, let alone to scoring one of the greatest goals in the competition’s history, by voicing a determination to leave but, from overhead kicks to outspoken thoughts, Bale left an imprint on Real Madrid’s 13th European Cup.
A come-and-get-me plea felt directed to an audience of one: Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. The footballing pyramid can mean that, at the top, there is sometimes a market of one. Take the case of an available Bale. In theory, he is a player anyone would want. In reality, even most of the superclubs can be ruled out. The combination of his current salary and the probable transfer fee would deter anyone: his former employers Tottenham Hotspur have already pulled out of the hunt. Arsenal have other priorities. Liverpool’s wage ceiling has been raised, but is still nowhere near Bale’s level. Nor those at Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus or, for that matter, any other Italian club. Chelsea’s depends on whether Roman Abramovich is still intent on breaking even.
It in effect leaves Paris Saint-Germain, a club who seem to have driven a bulldozer through Financial Fair Play and who have overloaded on superstar attackers, Manchester City, who probably will sign an attacker but have shown little interest in Bale in the past, and their neighbours.
Because United have represented Real’s insurance policy for years. As his five seasons at the Bernabeu have produced four Champions Leagues, three final goals and 88 strikes in a side built around Cristiano Ronaldo, he has long qualified as a footballing hit. Yet there has been a financial wisdom underpinning his move. Real have long seemed to have the guarantee that United would repay them the £85 million (Dh416m) they forked out for Bale, if not more, meaning that, in effect, they had his best years for free, wages apart.
As Bale turns 29 in July and has a reputation for being injury prone, that guarantee may be close to expiring, even if United are confident Jose Mourinho could keep him fit. The difference with their past pursuits is that a player who was only interested in joining Real in 2013 and who had always insisted he wanted to stay in Spain now seems intent on leaving.
Which presumably meant ears at Old Trafford pricked up. Alexis Sanchez’s January signing had seemed to signal an end to a longstanding interest in Bale. Mourinho insisted in February that United will not sign a forward in the summer. Yet that was before it became likely that the marginalised Anthony Martial would leave. Certainly, senior figures at Old Trafford have continued to admire Bale.
And if he would not suit the age profile of a squad that could contain too many players who could decline in a couple of years, he would fit the positional requirements. Swapping Sanchez for Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave United an overload of players on the left and too few on the right. Losing Martial and bringing in Bale would rectify that imbalance.
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Gallery: Real Madrid down Liverpool in Kiev to win third straight UCL title
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It would also fit the club’s ethos. United find the temptation of big names too great. They know the commercial benefits of signing superstars and look for a short cut to sporting success. Liverpool and City have English football’s most defined styles of play, the products of high-class coaching and original thinking.
United look to counter their teamwork with individualism, philosophies with conspicuous consumption, collective coherence with moments of magic. It can be a simplistic thought process: buy enough big names and one of them will be decisive. If Paul Pogba doesn’t win a game, Sanchez will, or so the theory goes. If he doesn’t, Romelu Lukaku will. And if none of them do, Bale might. As he showed in the Champions League final, he can transform any match. Given United’s need to transform perceptions after a season when neighbours dominated, this could be Real’s chance to cash in that guarantee.
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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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.”
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Population: 44.13 million
Armed conflict in Donbass
Russia-backed fighters control territory
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Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
