Diego Costa of Chelsea celebrates after his team's win against Tottenham on Saturday. Clive Rose / Getty Images / November 26, 2016
Diego Costa of Chelsea celebrates after his team's win against Tottenham on Saturday. Clive Rose / Getty Images / November 26, 2016

Football

‘Chelsea look scary to me’: Liverpool great Graeme Souness

Chelsea, says Liverpool great Graeme Souness, 'don't have to have all of the ball to win games. Liverpool do, Manchester City do, Arsenal do. Chelsea ... are hard to beat.'

Liverpool great Graeme Souness believes Chelsea represent the greatest threat to his old club's title hopes this season.

The Merseysiders, who were last crowned champions of England in 1990, before the start of the Premier League, are second in the table, a point behind leaders Chelsea.

Liverpool beat Sunderland 2-0 last weekend but saw star playmaker Philippe Coutinho suffer an ankle injury in the process.

The Brazilian has scored five league goals already this season but former Scotland midfielder Souness said the club had the resources to cope with his absence.

“Of course it’s a blow. But I was (Liverpool) captain there and regarded as one of the better players and I was out for 10 games and they won every single one of them,” said Souness, now a pundit with Sky Sports.

“At the start of the season I would have signed up for finishing in the top four, but now I’m looking for a wee bit more,” explained Souness, who won five league titles and three European Cups during his time at Anfield.

“But we’re not even in December. One year at Liverpool we lost to Manchester City on Boxing Day and were 12th in the league, everyone was writing us off and we still won it.

“So to start picking a winner now is really hard. But of the candidates, Chelsea look scary to me.

“They don’t have to have all of the ball to win games. Liverpool do, Manchester City do, Arsenal do. Chelsea play in a pragmatic way, they are hard to beat.

“They all seem to know what they are doing now and Diego Costa and Eden Hazard are a real threat. But it could change dramatically in the next month.”

Meanwhile Souness, who had a brief spell as Liverpool manager from 1991 to 1992, was impressed by the way manager Jurgen Klopp had settled in at Anfield.

“I think he’s the perfect fit for that club,” said Souness of the German manager.

“He’s a man who wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s at a very emotional football club. I think it’s working beautifully right now.”

*Agence France-Presse

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The specs

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Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:

1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition

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.”

A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

SPECS

Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
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While you're here
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Australia squads

ODI: Tim Paine (capt), Aaron Finch (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.

T20: Aaron Finch (capt), Alex Carey (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth.

Points tally

1. Australia 52; 2. New Zealand 44; 3. South Africa 36; 4. Sri Lanka 35; 5. UAE 27; 6. India 27; 7. England 26; 8. Singapore 8; 9. Malaysia 3

On Women's Day
Expo details

Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia

The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.

It is expected to attract 25 million visits

Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.

More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020

The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area

It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South