Luis Suarez remains without a victory in a Barcelona shirt as the Catalans suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Celta Vigo on his home debut on Saturday.
Barca had been unbeaten in the league until the Uruguayan’s bow away to Real Madrid last weekend, but consecutive defeats have seen them slip to third in La Liga behind Real and Atletico Madrid.
Luis Enrique’s star-studded frontline of Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi were left frustrated as the hosts struck the woodwork four times and were denied by Celta keeper Sergio Alvarez numerous times as Joaquin Larrivey’s second-half strike sealed the Galicians first away victory over Barca since 1941.
“The other day against Real Madrid to return to playing was a bittersweet feeling, it was great to be back but we didn’t get the result,” Suarez told Barca TV.
“To make my debut in the Camp Nou in a competitive game was nice but the result is negative again.
“We created a lot of chances, but we didn’t have luck on our side. They defended well and their goalkeeper was great.
“Football can be unjust at times, the opponent creates one chance in the whole game and scores and that hurts.”
On top of his 70-minute run out at the Bernabeu, Suarez had also played 45 minutes in the Catalan Super Cup against Espanyol in midweek to gain match fitness.
And he insisted he felt no ill effects from having completed the 90 minutes in a competitive game for the first time in four months following his ban for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.
“I felt much better today than the other days. You always have to be 100 percent ready to compete. In the Bernabeu I felt good in the first moments of the game, but in the second I felt a bit tired after not playing for so long.
“The 45 minutes against Espanyol helped to gain rhythm and today having played the whole game I feel much better.”
Barca’s first chance to bounce back from a disappointing week comes at a ground Suarez knows well as Enrique’s men travel to face his old club Ajax in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
“The match against Ajax is the most important at the moment,” added Suarez, who scored 111 goals during a four-year spell with the Dutch champions.
“It is clear that it is a club that gave me everything. I learned a lot and I will always be thankful for that. To return and play in the Champions League with Barcelona will be great.”
Enrique also lamented his side’s lack of efficiency in front of goal and is braced for the criticism that will come the way of him and his players in the coming days.
“We had 19 shots and hit the woodwork four times. There were errors, but the attitude the team showed will reinforce us going forward.
“We deserved to win, but this sport rewards effectiveness and that is what we weren’t.
“Now we will have a week where it will be open season (to criticise) but our responsibility is to prepare for the game against Ajax.”
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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
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.”
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
