CELEBRITY
LIONEL MESSI BECOMES FOOTBALL’S SECOND BILLIONAIRE
News around football’s celebrated player, Lionel Messi has taken a positive slant this week as he is set to become the sports’ second billionaire after Cristiano Ronaldo.
According to Daily Mail, quoting from statistics by the Forbes Magazine, Messi has not only become a billionaire, he has also fended off competition from Ronaldo to top Forbes rich list
After Ronaldo previously achieved the feat, Messi has now earned $1billion in pre-tax earnings during his career, as reported by Forbes.
Messi is the highest earning player in 2020 according to Forbes, with the Argentina international set to earn $126million (£98million) – split between his salary of $92million (£72million) plus $34million (£26million) in endorsements.
Having recently agreed to stay at Barcelona for another season after much uncertainty, Messi will hope that he can help the Catalan club to bounce back after they failed to win a trophy last campaign.
In addition to his boot deal with Adidas, Messi also has endorsement deals with Pepsi, Budweiser and AI-vision company OrCam Technologies.
Ronaldo is in second place on Forbes’ list, with the Juventus attacker on course to earn $117million (£91million).
With 457 million followers across his social media accounts, Ronaldo is the most popular athlete in the world. He has deals with companies like Nike and Herbalife.
In third is Paris Saint-Germain winger Neymar, who is due to earn $96million (£75million).
The Brazil international recently switched to Puma after his deal with Nike came to an end.
Neymar’s PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe has risen significantly on the list to fourth place. He is set to earn $42million (£33million).
In addition to his exploits on the pitch, Mbappe was also named as the cover star for FIFA 21.
It is anticipated that Mbappe will continue to rise up the list and he could well overtake Neymar next year.
Completing the top five is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, whose earnings total $37million (£29million).
FORBES’ HIGHEST PAID PLAYERS IN 2020
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – $126million
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) – $117million
3. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) – $96million
4. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) – $42million
5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – $37million
6. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) – $34million
7. Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona) – $33million
8. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) – $29million
9. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – $28million
10. David de Gea (Manchester United) – $27million
Salah, the highest Premier League player on the list, has deals with Adidas and Vodafone Egypt.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is sixth with earnings of $34million (£26million).
In seventh is Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann, who has earned $33million (£26million). He launched an Esports team this year, with his brand growing further.
Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale is in eighth with $29million (£23million) despite his lack of game time.
Robert Lewandowski, who helped Bayern Munich to win the treble, is in ninth place with earnings of $24million (£19million).
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, meanwhile, is in tenth having earned $27million (£21million).
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18 million annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175 million to his fortune.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52 million), plus bonuses and a reported 15% share in his Saudi Arabia club.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600 million in pre-tax salary during his career.
Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.
Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.
“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit and they ask me why I want to score 1000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.
“I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”
-Reuters
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Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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