Frank Rijkaard: It all went a bit sour during his final season at Barcelona, but Rijkaard was responsible for reviving a club that had endured a difficult few years. During his five years at Barca, Rijkaard won two La Liga titles and the 2006 Champions League. And of course, the Dutchman was responsible for handing a debut to the club's - and arguably the world's - greatest player, Lionel Messi. As a player, Rijkaard was a key part of Ajax's great generation, helping the club win five league titles and the 1995 Champions League. At AC Milan, he won two European Cups and two Serie A titles. Rijkaard was also a central part of the Netherlands team that won the 1998 European Championship. Retired in 2016 after a two year stint with Saudi Arabia.
Frank Rijkaard: It all went a bit sour during his final season at Barcelona, but Rijkaard was responsible for reviving a club that had endured a difficult few years. During his five years at Barca, RiShow more

Sport

Rijkaard in the frame for Premier League job

Fulham and Aston Villa are closing in on their search for new managers.

Duncan Castles

June 05, 2011

Frank Rijkaard has emerged as an unexpected candidate for the vacant Aston Villa manager's job as Fulham close in on bringing Martin Jol back to English football.

Both Premier League sides are currently without coaches after Gerard Houllier resigned his post following serious health problems last week and Mark Hughes exercised a clause in his Fulham contract that allowed him to leave the club.

Villa were initially expected to invite Hughes to replace Houllier, but senior club officials insist that they have no intention of appointing the Welshman. Hughes, who has now gone through three Premier League managerial positions in four years had angered Fulham by courting the more affluent clubs while still under contract at Craven Cottage.

The 47-year-old was not Fulham's first choice to succeed Roy Hodgson last summer. Instead the club offered the position to Jol, under the mistaken understanding that the popular former Tottenham Hotspur manager was free to leave Ajax Amsterdam. Jol, who led Tottenham to consecutive fifth-placed finishes, has subsequently left Ajax and is interested in a return to London where he still owns a house.

Rijkaard returned Barcelona to Champions League success during a five season spell at the Camp Nou in which he also won two Spanish titles.

The former Netherland international contacted Villa last week to express his interest in replacing Houllier and is understood to have received a positive response.

Paul Faulkner, the Villa chief executive, has been charged with drawing up a shortlist of candidates for the position that is expected to also include Jol, Steve McClaren and Rafael Benitez. The club are also know to know admirers of David Moyes. The Scot has worked successive seasons at Everton without a transfer budget and could conceivably be tempted by Villa were the Midlands club to offer a long-term contract with significant funds to restructure their squad.

Hughes is represented by Kia Joorabchian, a controversial figure who has drawn the ire of several English and overseas clubs. On Friday, Joorabchian insisted that his client had not resigned from Fulham in the expectation of taking over at Villa. "He wants to go to club where he can fight for titles, whether that is in England, Spain, Italy or Portugal," Joorabchian said. "If that means he has to be out of management for a year then that is the case. Mark left Fulham because he wanted to explore his aspirations.

"I stick by what we are saying - we were not talking to anybody. No other club is in consideration. The timing may have influenced the press and public that he's headed in a direction. That's not the case."

sports@thenational.ae

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.”

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills