CELEBRITY
PELE AT 80, THANKS BRAZIL FOR BIRTHDAY WISHES
Considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, Pele will celebrate his 80th birthday today, confined to his home in Brazil because of the pandemic, but meeting the milestone with his trademark laugh.
“The King” has suffered from a series of health problems in recent years, but has not lost his charisma or sense of humour.
“I’m fine, it’s just I won’t be able to play (football),” he said jokingly in a video call with the head of the Brazilian Football Confederation earlier this week.
The only player in history to win three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970), Pele will celebrate his birthday quietly – as he does almost every year – pandemic or not.
But several tributes have been planned in Brazil, from an exhibit in his honour at the Sao Paulo Football Museum to a mural designed by renowned street artist Kobra in Santos, the city where Pele started his professional career as a 15-year-old prodigy in 1955.
Special newspaper sections and TV specials have also been dedicated to celebrating his legacy.
“He’s a living legend, we have to revere our idols while they’re still alive and still with us,” said Gabriel Oliveira, a visitor to the exhibition in Sao Paulo. “He’s done so much. Thanks to him Brazil is known the world over.”
To thank his supporters, Pele recorded a song with Grammy-winning Mexican duo Rodrigo and Gabriela, billed as “a little birthday present for his fans and himself”.
“Thank you to Brazil and all Brazilians. I was always very happy wearing this jersey. Thank you for all your warm wishes for my birthday,” he said in an Instagram post on Wednesday that was accompanied by a photo of himself celebrating one of his 1,281 goals (including those from unofficial matches).
Whether captured in grainy black and white early in his career, or with his yellow and green No. 10 Brazil jersey in the era of colour TV, many of those goals were spectacular displays of athletic prowess, setting the standard for the jogo bonito or beautiful game that would come to define Brazilian football.
His legacy looms so large that Fifa named him the greatest footballer of the 20th century in 2000, alongside Argentina’s Diego Maradona, who celebrates his 60th birthday on Oct 30.
Pele, however, has grown increasingly frail with age. His public appearances had become rare even before the pandemic confined him at home in Brazil, where Covid-19 has now claimed over 155,000 lives, the second-highest death toll in the world after the United States.
He has had longstanding kidney and hip problems and earlier this year, his son Edinho revealed his father had become depressed and reclusive due to his failing health.
“Just imagine, he’s the ‘King’, he was always such an imposing figure, and now he can’t walk normally,” he said.
· THE GREATEST DEBATE
· PELE (BRA)
Years active 1956-1977
Goals 77 in 92 games (international); 707 (club)
Major titles World Cup (1958, 1962, 1970), Copa Libertadores (1962-63)
CRISTIANO RONALDO (POR)
Years active 2002-present
Goals 101/167; 641
Individual honours Fifa World Player of the Year/Ballon d’Or (2008, 2013-14, 2016-17)
Major titles European Championship (2016), Premier League (2007-09), La Liga (2012, 2017), Serie A (2019-20), Champions League (2008, 2014, 2016-18)
DIEGO MARADONA (ARG)
Years active 1976-1997
Goals 34/91; 312
Major titles World Cup (1986), Serie A (1987, 1990), Uefa Cup (1989)
LIONEL MESSI (ARG)
Years active 2004-present
Goals 71/140; 636
Individual honours Fifa World Player of the Year/Ballon d’Or (2009-2012, 2015, 2019)
Major titles Olympics (2008), La Liga (2005-06, 2009-11, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018-19), Champions League (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015)
But Pele told the public earlier this week that he was still mentally alert, saying: “I thank God for giving me the health to make it this far lucid. Not very intelligent, but lucid. I hope when I die, God will welcome me the same way I’ve been welcomed all over the world because of our beloved football.”
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
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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For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The League of Wealthy Sportsmen
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2025
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