Paris Saint-Germain manager Unai Emery is shown at a news conference in Paris on February 13, 2017. Christian Hartmann / Reuters
Paris Saint-Germain manager Unai Emery is shown at a news conference in Paris on February 13, 2017. Christian Hartmann / Reuters

Uefa Champions League: Barcelona and Messi are familiar frustrations for PSG and Emery



■ Champions League: Paris Saint-Germain v Barcelona, Game 1, Tuesday, 11.45pm UAE

For Unai Emery, the cherry-and-blue stripes of the Barcelona jersey must sometimes look like a skull and crossbones.

Emery, lauded as one of the most diligent and insightful coaches of his generation, and with big trophies to show for it, has suffered more than most against the brilliant Barca sides of the past decade. On Tuesday, in his 24th attempt, the Spaniard seeks what would be just his second ever win against the Catalan club.

There is no shame in finishing second best to Barca, just as long as it does not become a phobia. Keen to avoid that, Paris Saint-Germain have hired Emery with a brief to galvanise the ambitious French club’s Uefa Champions League campaigns, which have stubbornly fallen short of the medal positions in the five years since they came under the generous patronage of their Qatari backers.

Too often it has been Barcelona, who PSG host in Paris, who have curtailed those campaigns.

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PSG have met Barcelona six times in the past three years and won just once. Emery, meanwhile, has selected 23 teams in the past 10 years to stymie Barcelona. In all his attempts – first as a young strategist with Almeria, then in charge of Valencia, briefly in command of Spartak Moscow, and most recently with Sevilla – he has just the one victory. Barcelona have beaten Emery’s teams 16 times in the 23 encounters.

The good news? He has been getting closer. Last May, Barcelona needed extra time to score the only two goals of Spain’s Copa del Rey final against Emery’s Sevilla in Madrid, at the end of a season that had begun with a European Super Cup final between the two clubs that finished 5-4 in Barca’s favour. Emery’s Sevilla beat Barcelona 2-1 at home in the Primera Liga in 2015/16. They lost by the same narrow score at Camp Nou in the reverse fixture.

The immediate background to Tuesday night’s collision in Paris tilts in the Spanish champions’ favour. Twice the past three seasons, Barcelona have eliminated PSG at the quarter-final stage. That PSG then went on to stroll to their domestic title both seasons was some consolation, though it was not enough.

When they combined a fifth Ligue 1 title on the trot with a fourth successive defeat at the last-eight stage of the Champions League last year, they were looking for a new manager to replace Laurent Blanc.

Emery looked a good fit for his single-mindedness and his fine antennae for symptoms of complacency in his playing staff.

What Emery found, perhaps to the surprise of his bosses, was that the French championship has suddenly become tougher for the holders. It is rare for PSG to not be on top of Ligue 1 in the middle of February. But this season, PSG trail Monaco just as Barca trail Real Madrid in Spain.

Crisis? Hardly.

Emery’s task was to remould PSG both for a sturdier assault on Europe and for a future without their departed totem Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede’s impact as a goalscorer has been replicated by Edinson Cavani, and they come into Tuesday’s fixture with nine victories from their last 10 outings in domestic football.

Barcelona’s blips, the cause of their deficit in the defence of their Spanish title, are also receding in their rear-view mirror.

Ominously, each of their fabled attacking trio – Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar – were on target in Saturday’s 6-0 thrashing at Alaves. Messi has nine goals from 12 outings so far in 2017.

Messi is a well-known thorn in Emery’s side. In the only win the manager ever recorded over Barca, Messi was absent. In the catalogue of defeats and the odd draw, Messi has registered 25 goals in 21 games against Emery teams.

No wonder that Lucas Moura, PSG’s winger, responded to the question of how to stop Messi, with the dry: “We’ll just have to tie him up.”

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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.

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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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Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan

Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri

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