CELEBRITY
LEGENDS PAY TRIBUTES TO MARADONA ON 60TH BIRTHDAY
Diego Maradona celebrated his 60th birthday on Friday with tributes from around the world and a 100-metre long billboard being erected in his honour in the centre of Buenos Aires.
However, the Gimnasia y Esgrima coach is expected to spend a quiet day at home and could miss the restart of the Argentine league due to fears about Covid-19.
The former Boca Juniors and Napoli striker was reported to have come into contact with someone who displayed Covid-19 symptoms and could miss his side’s home match against Patronato, the first in the restarted top flight league campaign that was paused in March.
Nevertheless, friends sent tributes to the iconic and flamboyant player best known for leading Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title.
A billboard featuring Maradona’s face was unveiled on Buenos Aires’ majestic central Avenida, alongside the obelisk where fans traditionally gather to celebrate major victories.
On Instagram, football greats from around the world – former Brazil striker Luis Ronaldo, manager Jose Mourinho and former Italy captain Franco Baresi among them – shared their best wishes.
“I start my 60th with these marvellous messages that you’ve all sent me,” Maradona said in response.
“Thanks for your love and your friendship. This is the best present you could have given me.”
Maradona is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest footballers of all time.
He won the 1986 World Cup with Argentina and his two goals against England in the quarter-final victory – one the infamous Hand of God, the second a brilliant solo goal – are unforgettable moments in sporting history.
He also transformed Italian club Napoli, helping them to their first league title in 1987, as well as to the Uefa Cup in 1989 and another Serie A trophy a year later.
But there was also a dark side that cost him dearly.
Maradona’s drug addiction tainted his later years in Italy and led to him being kicked out of the 1994 World Cup and banned from the game for 15 months.
Knee injuries took their toll as did weight problems and he was hospitalised in 2004 with severe heart and respiratory problems linked to cocaine use. He now often uses crutches to walk.
-Reuters
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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