Clasicos talk of crisis-ridden nation

BARCELONA // Spain is talking about little else.

Forget the economic crisis and the associated worries of rising interest rates and unemployment, the prospect of an almost unprecedented four clasicos in 18 days between Barcelona and Real Madrid is dominating the country's agenda.

The first game is tonight, a league match in the Bernabeu when Madrid will try to avenge the humiliation of November's 5-0 defeat to Barca.

The last time the clubs met four times in quick succession was 1916, when Santiago Bernabeu was a striker in the Madrid team. Barca won the first leg of a cup tie, Madrid the second after a delayed train meant Barca started the game with nine men.

With goal difference not applied, a third game was needed which finished 6-6 after extra time - meaning a fourth game decided who would play the mighty Athletic Bilbao in the final.

Catalan reports claim that Madrid benefited from a dubious penalty, an offside goal and another when the Barca goalkeeper was impeded.

So angry were the Barca players that they left the field at 2-4 in extra time because of the biased referee. They had a point: the referee, Jose Angel Berraondo, used to play for Real Madrid.

Despite the defeat, Barca were considered moral victors and met by a huge crowd when their train arrived back in Barcelona.

Tonight's referee is not a former player of either club, but such is the paranoia among the media that they will go to any lengths to discover if the referee has any long-lost cousins who once supported Madrid or Barca.

Sometimes the clubs are right to be suspicious. Barca yesterday presented a lawsuit for €6.2 million (Dh32.989m) against the Madrid-based radio station, COPE, after one of their journalists linked the club with doping practices. "Barcelona considers these comments to have damaged its image, prestige and reputation," said an official club communique.

All manner of side issues also are in play. Madrid announced that they will charge between €80 and €325 for the home leg of their Champions League semi-final against Barca. The Catalans will charge between €85 and €250, rises which seem gross when the country is in recession and 10 times those being charged by the other two semi-final clubs, Schalke 04 and Manchester United.

Most people will watch the games on television and the issue for them is the outcome of the games, with the high and mighty of world football offering their opinions.

Fabio Capello, the England manager who once coached Madrid, said: "My three points of reference in football are Cruyff's Ajax, Sacchi's Milan and this Barcelona. Barcelona are an example, not for their passing game but for the pressure they put when losing the ball." Capello then described Ronaldo and Messi as the best two players in the world.

Despite the praise, Barca players consider their greatest strength to be their level-headedness.

"We're just regular boys, very uncomplicated in the dressing room who love football and have a lot of respect for other people," said Xavi. "Maybe being normal isn't a great selling point - but it appeals to people, maybe that's why we are applauded off the pitch so often at other grounds."

Such generous gestures are unlikely to be extended to the Bernabeu tonight. Madrid's fans can be as sporting as any, but with three more games against Barca, the last thing they will want to do is give the Catalans any encouragement.

Fixtures

Today

Getafe v Sevilla 8pm

Malaga v Real Mallorca 8pm

Almeria v Valencia 10pm

Real Madrid v Barcelona midnight

Tomorrow

Deportivo v Racing Santander 7pm

Levante v Hercules 7pm

Real Sociedad v Sporting Gijon 7pm

Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao 9pm

Espanyol v Atletico Madrid 11pm

Monday

Villarreal v Real Zaragoza 11pm

Primera Liga table

Team P W D L GD P

Barcelona 31 27 3 1 69 84 Real Madrid 31 24 4 3 50 76

Valencia 31 18 6 7 16 60 Villarreal 31 16 6 9 12 54

Sevilla 31 13 7 11 2 46 Athletic Bilbao 31 14 3 14 2 45

Atletico Madrid 31 13 6 12 7 45 Espanyol 31 14 2 15 -5 44

Mallorca 31 11 6 14 -9 39 Levante 31 11 6 14 -7 39

Sporting Gijon 31 9 11 11 -6 38 Racing 31 9 10 12 -14 37

R Sociedad 31 11 2 18 -14 35 Osasuna 31 9 8 14 -1 35

Deportivo 31 8 11 12 -15 35 Getafe 31 9 7 15 -9 34

Real Zaragoza 31 8 9 14 -13 33 Hercules 31 8 6 17 -20 30

Malaga 31 8 6 17 -23 30

Almeria 31 5 11 15 -22 26

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.”

Clasicos talk of crisis-ridden nation

Forget the economic crisis and the associated worries of rising interest rates and unemployment, the prospect of an almost unprecedented four clasicos in 18 days between Barcelona and Real Madrid is dominating the country¿s agenda.