Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has hailed the unique qualities of Luis Suarez after another week in which the prolific goalscorer dominated the headlines.
The Uruguay forward scored twice as Barca came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in Tuesday’s Uefa Champions League quarter-final first leg.
However, Suarez was also lucky to escape a red card for kicking out at Juanfran and striking Filipe Luis in the face during the same game.
Suarez, 29, is suspended for Saturday’s trip to Real Sociedad and Enrique’s pre-match news conference was dominated by questions about the striker.
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“I love the type of player that Luis Suarez is, there’s no other striker in the world like him,” Enrique said.
“Only defenders are allowed to hit players. If a striker suddenly does it then people are more bothered.
“Luis is doing very well, he’s a vital player for us, not just in a footballing sense but because of the character he has.”
Suarez was serving a ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup when he signed for Barcelona from Liverpool for €81 million (Dh339m) in August 2014 and could not make his debut until October of that year.
This week he was involved in a heated exchange of words with former agent Daniel Fonseca who said in a television interview in Uruguay that Suarez “has psychological problems”.
The striker is the Primera Liga leaders Barca’s top scorer this season with 45 goals in all competitions.
“Luis Suarez is a very intelligent guy. When he arrived here he knew he’d be in the eye of the storm for anything he did,” Enrique said.
Barca are six points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid ahead of the game at Sociedad where they have not won since 2007.
“It’s a very difficult trip for us, the most difficult place to go for us in the league,” said Enrique, who is also without injured trio Aleix Vidal, Jeremy Mathieu and Sandro Ramirez.
Spain forward Munir El Haddadi, 20, is expected to take Suarez’s place up front.
“The absence of Suarez won’t condition our tactics at all, I have an incredible squad,” Enrique said.
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Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
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Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
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Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
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7.05pm: Meydan Sprint (TB) | Group 2 | $250,000 (Turf) | 1,000m
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MATCH INFO
Burnley 1 (Brady 89')
Manchester City 4 (Jesus 24', 50', Rodri 68', Mahrez 87')
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
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Dust storm
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- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Director: Joseph Kosinski
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The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
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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.”
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
