LONDON // Gerard Pique, the Barcelona defender, is set to come up against his former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney at Wembley Stadium tomorrow night. And he is unsure whether knowing so much about Rooney's talents is a good or bad thing.
"I have never seen a player as powerful as Wayne Rooney," Pique said.
"The way he goes past people, the intensity of his play, the runs he makes from the first minute to the last and the shot that he has. World-class."
Pique, 24, has given much thought to Rooney this week and to what role he will play.
"Wayne will be more dangerous as a striker," he said. "He is always a striker at heart. We will have to be really focused not to give him space, not to give him time, not to score goals."
The pair have kept in touch since the Catalan departed Old Trafford in 2008 after a three-year spell.
"We were close at United," he said. "One day I remember the boss made us both change our boots in training as he didn't like us wearing yellow ones. We have a good relationship, but during the game there are no friends."
Pique also retains respect for his former manager.
"Sir Alex is always 'the Boss', and always will be," Pique said. "He's absolutely incredible. He's won loads of titles and has made Manchester United the best team in England."
United snared Pique, who had excelled at youth level, as a 16 year old from Barca in 2004. He was a patient learner in Manchester, but his first-team opportunities were limited to 14 starts and nine substitute appearances over three seasons; a fourth was spent on loan to Real Zaragoza.
Does he think United regret letting him go?
"Maybe Alex would want me to still be in Manchester, but you'd have to ask him," said the Spanish World Cup winner.
"I don't know if he regrets letting me leave. At the time I left it was a good decision for him, for me, for Manchester and Barcelona.
"When I arrived here I was lucky to have a lot of minutes to show that I could play. Maybe I could have done that at United, but I decided to leave.
"I didn't play all the time at United, that was the problem. Rio Ferdinand and [Nemanja] Vidic played every week, which I could understand because they were so good, the best pairing in the world.
"It was almost impossible for me to break into the team; that's why I had to leave. Ironically, when I left they started to get injured. As soon as I started playing regularly at Barca, fans saw me at my best."
He has thrived since he settled at Barca, winning three league titles, the 2009 Champions League against United and the World Cup with Spain a year later. Yet he does not rest on his laurels.
"It's a challenge every day at Barcelona, training with Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and all the others," he said.
"I try to do my best. I'm fighting against the best players in the world and you have to be really, really good to stop them.
"It was the same in Manchester, when I was there. Every day I had to train with Rooney, [Ruud] Van Nistelrooy and Cristiano [Ronaldo] and every day was a challenge."
He faces one of his biggest challenges tomorrow night, marking Rooney once again.
sports@thenational.ae
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
RESULT
Liverpool 4 Southampton 0
Jota (2', 32')
Thiago (37')
Van Dijk (52')
Man of the match: Diogo Jota (Liverpool)
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
THE SPECS
Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 680Nm
Price: Dh465,071
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
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
PETER%20PAN%20%26%20WENDY
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDavid%20Lowery%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alexander%20Molony%2C%20Ever%20Anderson%2C%20Joshua%20Pickering%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
