Saudi football’s newest big name signing made an upbeat introduction to his new public, but he was upstaged by the biggest of them all as Al Nassr powered on in the AFC Champions League Elite
Jhon Duran went straight into the starting line up to face Al Wasl, the UAE champions, on Monday night, after becoming the second most expensive signing in the history of the Saudi Pro League.
The Colombian striker’s switch from Aston Villa in the Premier League to the Riyadh club was one of the most seismic moves of the winter transfer window. All the more so because, aged just 21, he has his best years ahead of him.
On debut, though, he had to defer to a great from the other end of the age-range. Cristiano Ronaldo showed again there are plenty of goals left in his 39-year-old body. He helped himself to two as his side eased to a 4-0 win over their guests from Dubai.
Judged by the reception he got at the Al Awwal Stadium, Duran is already adored by the followers of his new club.
Even though Al Nassr hardly want for stars, the new striker got the biggest cheer of the team announcements. To endear himself even more, he went around the perimeter of the fired pre kick off giving out T-shirts and footballs.
He had his chance to make his mark as early as the third minute. Ronaldo was the supplier with an appetising cross from the right. Unmarked, Duran barely got anything on the ball.
Three minutes later he was more decisive in fashioning a chance to shoot from distance. His shot drifted wide, but it was enough to get the home fans roaring his name.
For all their clever interplay, the overseas stars of the home team were largely wasteful when chances fell their way. It took a Saudi player to show them how it should be done.
As a holding midfielder, Ali Al Hassan generally busies himself with winning possession back to give to the more celebrated colleagues in front of him. In the 26th minute, he fired in a drive from range that any of the stars would have been happy with, after Al Wasl’s defence had taken turns to fail to clear the ball.
Shortly after that opening, Duran was on the ball again as he went through in the inside right channel with space to cross. As he tried to do so, he kicked it with his standing foot while tripping over.
Al Nassr’s lead was doubled by a more customary source. The hosts were granted a penalty after the referee finally saw what had seemed patently clear to everyone else in the stadium – a header from Sadio Mane struck the hand of Salem Juma Awad – after looking at the review monitor. Ronaldo dispatched it, and the whole stadium erupted in a “Siu” with him.
The home faithful did their best to create some noise, even if it was generally subdued given their team’s comfortable position in the group, and the ease with which they held Wasl at arm’s length.
There was a sense that the Viking thunderclap they produced as half time neared was as much about warming their hands as it was supporting their team.
It might not exactly be a Scandinavian winter, but Duran must have been wondering where his plane had landed having set off from Birmingham. The temperature was in the low teens, and it felt decidedly chilly.
As their players went through the motions in the second half, the crowd of 20,384 largely entertained themselves again. A Mexican wave even did several laps of the stands.
With victory long since sealed, they were enlivened again late on, first as Ronaldo headed the third. The Portuguese forward took his curtain call not long after, and just after he did so, Mohammed Al Fatil headed the fourth to set the seal on an easy evening’s work for the hosts.
Nassr maintained their third-place position to guarantee their place in the knockout round while Wasl stay fifth on 11 points.
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
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.”
