Patrick Vieira is one of only eight players in the Premier League who knows what it feels like to go through a top-flight season in England and not lose a match. He is also one of only three players to have played in a World Cup final and won. He is the only player in the league to have done both, so when he talks, people listen.
When Vieira joined Manchester City from Inter Milan last January, cynics questioned the team's need for another defensive midfielder. Roberto Mancini already had Gareth Barry, Nigel de Jong and Vincent Kompany at his disposal. But the Italian believed Vieira would bring vital leadership skills to a young side.
Having narrowly missed out on Champions League football last season after a 1-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the race for fourth place, Mancini's side now hold loftier ambitions: the title. And Vieira believes it is the younger players, who only 12 months ago needed an experienced role model, that will ensure City do not have to live with many more disappointing days in the future.
"After the Tottenham game, there was sadness in the dressing room," Viera said. "Our target was to finish in the top four and play Champions League football and we didn't achieve that. When you do not do what you want to do there is always going to be frustration, but to finish fifth was good - people forget where City were three or four years ago.
"Myself and Shay Given are the oldest in the team though. That is why I think, if the club can keep a hold of these players for the next few years and ensure a sense of stability in the squad, City can be very successful. The club is working for the future."
Vieira revealed in an interview last month that the attitude of today's young players has dissuaded him from considering a future career in football management, but yesterday, having made an informal visit to the new Manchester City store at Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi, the 34-year-old Frenchman clarified his position.
"Young players now are more talented than they were when we were young, so they are being offered contracts earlier," he said.
"I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but young players now are not patient like my generation used to be.
"They want everything instantly because when they play one or two games well, the television and newspapers build them up and make them stars, which then becomes a problem. I try to explain to them that there is a big difference between playing at the top for one or two years and playing at the top for 15 years."
Mancini, as well as making sure his younger players remain grounded in the face of fame, must also ensure his more senior players remain content if they are not playing every game. Several of City's older squad members, such as Joleon Lescott and Emmanuel Adebayor, are said to have grown disillusioned with life among the substitutes.
Adebayor left on loan for Real Madrid last month and while Vieira admits he is unsure whether the former Arsenal striker will pull on a City shirt again, he said Edin Dzeko, the striker who joined in January for £27 million (Dh159.3m), will be a more than able replacement.
"He is settling in well," Vieira said. "In training he looks great and all he needs now is a goal to give him the confidence and self-belief. He has not managed to get that yet, but it is just a matter of time."
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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
