Wayne Rooney has already set his sights on becoming Manchester United’s outright top goalscorer after equalling the record in their 4-0 FA Cup victory over Reading on Saturday.
Rooney joined Bobby Charlton on 249 club goals with his seventh-minute opener in the third round tie against the Championship side at Old Trafford.
Anthony Martial slotted his sixth goal of the season into the bottom right corner to double the lead eight minutes later before Marcus Rashford’s second-half double sealed a comfortable victory.
“It’s a proud moment to do so at such a massive club like Manchester United,” Rooney told BT Sport 1.
“I’m hugely honoured to be able to play for this football club but to be up there in terms of goals with Sir Bobby, it’s a really proud moment for me and hopefully I’ll be out there on my own soon.
“But I’ll enjoy today because it’s a real honour.”
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United manager Jose Mourinho is also keen for Rooney to break the record, preferably with a strike in an important game.
“It’s amazing but I want one more goal and I want a very important one, a last-minute goal, something really important for us because he is an amazing guy in the group and we all want him to do that,” Mourinho said.
“Obviously, Sir Bobby Charlton is Sir Bobby Charlton but to have Wayne as the top-scorer in the history of such a big club is something magnificent for him.”
Rooney has won five Premier League titles, two League Cups, last season’s FA Cup, the 2007/08 Uefa Champions League and the 2008 Club World Cup.
He was voted the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year and the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year in 2010.
Rooney was named United captain by former manager Louis van Gaal in July 2014 and was given the England captaincy by then manager Roy Hodgson a month later.
But he has lost his place in United’s starting XI following Mourinho’s arrival as manager and has had to make do with occasional starts in the cup competitions of late.
Rooney’s first chance to break the record will come, if selected, against Hull City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
FA Cup round-up
Bournemouth, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Everton and Swansea City were the five Premier League sides to be eliminated from the FA Cup at the third round stage.
Bournemouth were the victims of the biggest upset of the day’s action as they were beaten 3-0 at League One side Millwall.
Goals from Helder Costa and Matt Doherty gave Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers a 2-0 triumph at Stoke City.
West Brom also went out to Championship opposition in the shape of Derby County, going down 2-1 despite leading at half time.
Two goals from Ahmed Musa gave Premier League champions Leicester City a 2-1 success at Everton, the 1995 FA Cup winners, at Goodison Park.
That was one of three all Premier League ties, with bottom side Hull City getting the better of Swansea City 2-0.
It was Marco Silva’s first match in charge since replacing Mike Phelan in midweek in the Hull hotseat, and his side had to be patient as it took until the 78th minute to break the deadlock as Abel Hernandez netted, with Josh Tymon adding a second in stoppage time.
Sunderland and Burnley played out a goalless draw and will meet again at Turf Moor the week after next in the replay. Southampton will also face a replay after a stoppage time goal from Steven Naismith earned Norwich City a 2-2 draw. Goals from Virgil van Dijk and Maya Yoshida had twice put Southampton ahead at Carrow Road, sandwiching a Steven Whittaker penalty.
Watford put their slump in league form to one side as they proved too good for the Championship’s Burton Albion as they prevailed 2-0 at Vicarage Road.
* Agencies
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Palestine and Israel - live updates
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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.”
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
