At the start of this season, as Barcelona’s media officer tried to corral reluctant players into speaking to the media, one had a different approach.
New midfield signing Ivan Rakitic told the press officer that he would always be willing to do media duties.
The Croat, who was born in Switzerland and speaks Spanish with an Andalusian accent after four years at Sevilla, speaks four languages including English.
He also wears No 4, the most important at Camp Nou, the number worn by Pep Guardiola and Ronald Koeman.
Rakitic, 27 has been a success since his €18 million (Dh70.2m) transfer from Sevilla, a deal which included the loan of striker Denis Suarez.
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A versatile midfielder, he plays as a holding midfielder for Croatia and was most effective as an attacking midfielder in Sevilla – his 15 goals last season were crucial as he helped his side win the Europa League.
As club captain, Rakitic sealed his best season yet with a man-of-the-match performance in the final against Benfica and Barca made their move soon after before he represented Croatia at last year’s World Cup.
Though raised in Switzerland, a country he represented at Under 21 level, he chose to play for Croatia, the country of his former footballer father, and has 66 caps.
For Barca, he has usually played on the left of a midfield three, but he can also play in the defensive midfield role.
He has featured in 25 of the Catalans’ 27 league matches and started all but their first Uefa Champions League game.
Playing deeper than he did at Sevilla, his goals have been sacrificed (though he has still registered more shots than any player outside the attackers) and he has made eight assists to the heralded strikers ahead of him.
Experienced coach Miguel Angel Lotina, who has managed six top-flight Spanish clubs during his career, was one of many pundits not so happy with his move to Barcelona.
“Rakitic was the king of Sevilla, now he’s the slave at Barcelona,” the 57-year-old Spaniard said recently. This was not meant as a slur, more a reference to the work he ably carries out in the Barca midfield.
With Sergio Busquets recovering from an ankle injury which is expected to keep him out until the end of the month, Rakitic has switched position and is expected to start at home to both Manchester City on Wednesday and Real Madrid on Sunday in front of the defence, though Javier Mascherano is another option.
“I’ve already trained in that position this season. I can play there as I did for my country last season,” said Rakitic in one of his regular chats with the media last week.
He is loving life at the club he calls “the best in world” – a club where he claims that, when asked if he wanted to sign for Barca, he said “I do” with the same conviction as he did when making the same vow to his Andalusian wife at their wedding.
Rakitic has been a key performer as Barca have returned to the top of the Primera Liga, with nine wins in 10 league matches since a defeat at Real Sociedad on January 4, which signalled the dismissal of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, the man who signed him.
The signing represented another rise in a career which started at Basel in 2005. A move to Schalke followed in 2007, the German team reaching the Champions League quarter-finals against Barcelona in his first season. Unfortunately he missed both games with injury.
Rakitic did so well for Schalke, helping in their campaign to the 2011 Champions League semi-finals, that Sevilla signed him in that year’s January transfer window.
He had played in all six group games as Schalke defeated Benfica and Lyon, but did not get the chance to play in the last 16 that season.
On Wednesday against City, he should get that chance.
sports@thenational.ae
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RESULTS
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if you go
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
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UAE squad
Men's draw: Victor Scvortov and Khalifa Al Hosani, (both 73 kilograms), Sergiu Toma and Mihail Marchitan (90kg), Ivan Remarenco (100kg), Ahmed Al Naqbi (60kg), Musabah Al Shamsi and Ahmed Al Hosani (66kg)
Women’s draw: Maitha Al Neyadi (57kg)
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.”
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
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