Jose Mourinho believes Zlatan Ibrahimovic's influence on his Manchester United teammates will be just as crucial as his inspirational contribution on the pitch.
Ibrahimovic marked his Premier League debut for United in memorable fashion as the flamboyant Swedish striker hammered a 25-yard strike past Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc to cap his new team's 3-1 win at Dean Court on Sunday.
The 34-year-old has now scored on his maiden appearances in the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Champions League.
While maintaining that impressive statistic served as a notable introduction to English football, Ibrahimovic has his sights set on winning the Premier League rather than bolstering his lengthy list of individual accolades.
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With that in mind, Mourinho, who brought Ibrahimovic to United on a free transfer after he left Paris Saint-Germain, has been encouraged by the way the former Barcelona and Inter Milan forward has quickly emerged as a talismanic figure in the Old Trafford dressing room.
Many of United’s young players have been spending time with Ibrahimovic to pick his brains and Mourinho even invoked the name of United legend Eric Cantona when asked about the Swede’s ability to lift the level of his teammates with his swaggering style and vast experience.
“The first thing I can tell you is at his table for breakfast and for meals he is surrounded by the kids, the younger ones like (Marcus) Rashford and (Luke) Shaw,” Mourinho said.
“He knows what he can be for them as well as what he does with his performances.
“You have to forget he is 34 because the body and mentality is not that age. He is at the top of his game.”
It was a perfect start for both Mourinho and Ibrahimovic as they begin a new era with United.
But the magnitude of the United job meant even an experienced campaigner like Mourinho felt a few nerves before his first league match.
“To be honest before the match I was a little bit (nervous). Even for someone with so many years in football it is still normal,” he said.
"I never forget when I came to Old Trafford with Real Madrid I asked Alex Ferguson 'Are you still nervous?' and he said yes, It never changes."
A tepid first half display wouldn't have eased Mourinho's anxiety but the game changed completely once a woeful backpass by Bournemouth defender Simon Francis was punished by Juan Mata in the 40th minute.
Wayne Rooney added United’s second with a header in the second half and Ibrahimovic struck soon after before Adam Smith got one back for out-classed Bournemouth.
Having won the Community Shield against champions Leicester City last weekend and started the league campaign in emphatic fashion, Mourinho was asked if United could repeat the kind of blistering opening to a season that carried his Chelsea teams to three English titles.
“I started bad with Inter Milan and Porto, with draws at home, and yet we won everything, so you never know,” he said.
“The Community Shield is only a friendly but the feeling of a victory like that brings happiness and confidence.
“Now another match, away, and another victory. It’s a really good week of work for us.
“So on Friday in the first home match which can bring some pressure we will go with a good feeling.
“Everybody knows we are going to fight for the title, whether we win or not win is a different story.
“If one day it’s not possible, we will think about the top four. That would be a step forward from last season.”
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- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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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.”
