CELEBRITY
MILESTONE MARKS AWAIT MESSI IN FINAL SEASON WITH BARCA
With controversy over his future now settled as he remains with FC Barcelona, pundits have come up with extraordinary records that the iconic Lionel Messi should aim to surpass if indeed, the current season turns to be his last with the only club he ever plays for.
According to David Salinas, a journalist in Spanish publication, Dairio Sport, there are four targets Messi can possibly make in the current season.
One of such is the most goals for a single club, a record held by the acclaimed greatest of all-time icon, Pele of Brazil.
Pele holds the record for the most goals scored for a single club as he had 643 goals for Santos of Brazil. But according to David Salinas, Messi is very close to assailing that mark as he has scored 634 goals for Barcelona. He needs just nine goals to equal Pele’s goal mark.
Beyond goal scoring, Messi stands to become the player with most matches for Barcelona. Currently, Xavi with 767 holds the record. An injury-free campaign would see Messi breaking his former teammate’s record as he has currently made 731 appearances for the Catalans.
This season will be the 17th consecutive season with FC Barcelona first team since joining the club as a youth player 20 years ago. Currently, the legendary Carles Rexach joins Xavi as the only two players who had played for Barcelona for 17 seasons.
Messi will start his 17th campaign at the Camp Nou stadium against Villarreal this Sunday yet he will have to stay for another year to break Xavi’s and Rexach’s record.
Another possible record for Messi is that of most trophies with a single club. Former Manchester United legend, Ryan Giggs won 36 honours during his illustrious career at Old Trafford which is the all-time record.
Messi will have to win the treble this season to surpass Giggs as he has currently claimed 34 trophies at Barca.
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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