France's Ligue 1 put on a show in China last week, with its figurehead club, Paris Saint-Germain, finishing off a tour of the country with the staging of the Trophee des Champions in Beijing.
All-star PSG and provincial Guingamp did not quite sell out the Workers Stadium in the Chinese capital, but from PSG’s point of view, the expedition was about setting down markers, part of a long-term process to elevate the club’s global appeal.
Ligue 1 is mostly happy to hang on to super-rich PSG’s coattails in raising its own profile.
The French league, which begins play in the 2014/15 season tonight with PSG raising the curtain at Reims, strides along on a competitive catwalk – not as popular worldwide as the English Premier League, not as dashing as Spain’s Primera Liga, lacking the traditional cachet of Italy’s Serie A, and not quite as entertaining offensively as the German Bundesliga.
What Ligue 1 does have, though, is a powerful motor to drive it up the European hierarchy, where it currently jostles with Portugal’s Superliga for the status of Uefa’s fifth-best league. That motor is the wealth and ambition of Qatar-backed PSG.
PSG won a second consecutive Ligue 1 title last May, and they did so at a canter. But their summer has presented some difficulties.
The club’s owners have been more aware than ever that they are obliged to observe the principles of Uefa’s Financial Fair Play initiative, which means curtailing spending on fees and salaries so that expenditures more closely match what the club can generate in ticketing, TV sales and merchandise.
The China trip, and the effort to make PSG a powerful global brand, was part of an endeavour to address income issues.
PSG have so far spent less than in previous summers, but they still managed to set one individual record for outlay.
The close to €60 million (Dh294.7m) they agreed to pay Chelsea for David Luiz eclipses the sum they handed over to AC Milan for Thiago Silva two years ago.
Thus, their central defensive pair are the first- and second-most costly defenders in the history of football.
The two are also fresh from a World Cup in which their Brazil were humiliated in the semi-finals. There must be a concern for PSG coach Laurent Blanc that both men bear some psychological scars.
Blanc’s position would become vulnerable, were PSG to begin the domestic campaign with a similar sequence of results as they finished the last. Their title was achieved thanks to an impeccable start, but it was actually clinched after a run of four games in which they lost twice and won only once.
It was a stumble that might have been graver had Monaco, their nearest pursuers, not faltered at the same time.
It did raise questions about Blanc’s capacity to focus the team. He has a tough job, despite all the budgetary muscle PSG can flex over other French clubs.
“Everyone assumes we are favourites of all the domestic competitions,” he said. “So we have to shine.”
His bosses have made it clear to him the priority is success in Europe. Blanc’s PSG came within minutes of an Uefa Champions League semi-final last April, edged out of the competition by Chelsea.
In the decisive second leg, they missed their leading scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a significant detail. Ibrahimovic is the centrepiece of PSG's image-making, and their game plan.
He also will soon turn 33. Blanc needs to make PSG less dependent on the Swede, but he needs to somehow keep Ibrahimovic and his teammates happy, too. Last season, the coach was aware of the Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani's grumpiness in relinquishing the central striking role to Ibrahimovic.
Domestically, Blanc will come up against ambitious coaches keen to exploit any PSG frailty and polish their reputations by taking points off the Parisians.
An unusually high number of Ligue 1 clubs are guided by men new to the league. There is the venerated Marcelo Bielsa, a big character to take on a big project, at PSG’s fiercest rivals, Marseille.
At Monaco, who despite the loss of James Rodriguez to Real Madrid remain the best-equipped squad to challenge PSG, the managerial talents of Portugal’s Leonardo Jardim, 40, will be further assessed.
Jardim galvanised Sporting Lisbon last season, and if he can count on the services of Radamel Falcao for the whole of this term, he has a weapon to match Cavani and Ibrahimovic for firepower. The Colombia striker missed four months of 2013/14 with an injury.
Among the opening weekend’s most-intriguing fixtures will be Bielsa’s Marseille at Bastia, where Claude Makelele, the former France, Real Madrid and Chelsea midfielder, makes his debut as coach. Makelele was a watchword for organised, authoritative football as a player. He also served as an assistant at PSG and may know how to probe the champions’ weaknesses.
Meanwhile, Willy Sagnol, a former France teammate of Makelele, takes charge at Bordeaux.
Ligue 1 is intrigued by these new managers, probably more than by the fresh names playing on the teams. The reality is that glamorous new recruits are beyond the budgets of most clubs beneath the upper tier occupied by Monaco and PSG.
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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MATCH INFO
Borussia Dortmund 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')
Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
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CREW
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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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
THE SPECS
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Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
Brief scores:
Toss: India, opted to field
Australia 158-4 (17 ov)
Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24
India 169-7 (17 ov)
Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22
Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Sunday's fixtures
- Bournemouth v Southampton, 5.30pm
- Manchester City v West Ham United, 8pm
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Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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Torque: 760Nm
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What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
