CELEBRITY
‘HOPEFULLY HE’LL FIND COMFORT IN THE HANDS OF GOD’; LINEKER TRIBUTE TO MARADONA CAUSES TWITTER WAR
Former England striker, Garry Lineker who played in the famous 1986 World Cup match in which Diego Maradona described the first of his two goals as coming from the ‘Hand of God’ has declared that he hoped the fallen Argentine legend finds ‘comfort in the hands of God.”
His satire-like tribute was not well received as critics felt it was offensive. ‘Hopefully he’ll finally find some comfort in the hands of God’ was the tweet he put up.
But some of Lineker’s Twitter followers said it was ‘not the time’ for the former England footballer to make the reference, which was in relation to the ‘Hand of God’ goal the Argentinian legend scored at the 1986 World Cup.
Lineker, who now presents the BBC’s Match of the Day and also scored in the same quarter-final match in Mexico that featured the infamous goal, tweeted today: ‘Reports from Argentina that Diego Armando Maradona has died.
‘By some distance the best player of my generation and arguably the greatest of all time. After a blessed but troubled life, hopefully he’ll finally find some comfort in the hands of God. #RIPDiego.’
But the tweet did not go down well with everyone, and Brazilian journalist Eduardo Monsanto said: ‘Show some respect. Being an a**hole does not fit you, or so I thought.’ Lineker replied: ‘Sorry, where’s the disrespect?’
Monsanto replied: ‘Come on… we both know what you meant. There’s an entire country mourning the loss of their favourite son. This is no time for double meaning.’ Lineker hit back: ‘Your misunderstanding is complete.’
Another commented: ‘Not the time to make puns Gary.’ But Lineker said in response: ‘Don’t be ridiculous. It’s heartfelt.’
One journalist defended Lineker, saying: ‘I’ve seeing now someone dares to create a an argument. Do not care, you have been nothing less than poetic.’ Lineker replied: ‘Thank you. Can only imagine it’s a translation issue.’
The tweet had received 1,000 comments, 9,000 retweets and 72,000 likes within the first 40 minutes of being posted, with others saying Lineker’s words were just a ‘harmless, heartfelt pun’ and urged people to ‘move on’.
The pair have a history together after Lineker tracked the World Cup winner to Buenos Aires in 2006 for BBC documentary,’When Lineker met Maradona’.
Lineker, during his search for Maradona in his documentary ahead of the 2006 World Cup, was told the handball was ‘cunning’ by the man himself.
When they were first introduced for the programme, the Briton shook the Argentinian’s hand and asked him: ‘Which hand was it, this one?’ Maradona played along and lifted up his left hand, adding: ”No, it was this one!’
The Hand of God was one of the first questions most people asked Maradona in the years after it happened and he appeared to enjoy the controversy of it.
In 2019, he said: ‘I knew it was my hand. It wasn’t my plan but the action happened so fast that the linesman didn’t see me putting my hand in. The referee looked at me and he said: ”Goal”.’
He continued: ‘It was a nice feeling like some sort of symbolic revenge against the English.’
Just before his birthday this year, Maradona added: ‘I dream of being able to score another goal against England, this time with the right hand!’
The Argentina World Cup winner and the national team’s former manager had been in hospital in Buenos Aires after surgery to remove a blood clot on the brain earlier this month.
Maradona is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time and was the inspiration for Argentina’s World Cup success in Mexico in 1986.
He also led the country to the final of the 1990 tournament in Italy and managed them in South Africa in 2010.
Maradona’s successes made him a global star and a national hero in Argentina but his career was also blighted by controversies on and off the field.
His ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the 1986 quarter-finals, when he pushed the ball into the net with his hand, earned him infamy – although he followed up by scoring the ‘goal of the century’, a remarkable solo effort, in the same game.
His international playing career ended in shame when he failed a drugs test at the 1994 World Cup in the United States and he was notorious for a wayward lifestyle.
He was also banned from football in 1991 after testing positive for cocaine while playing for Napoli. However, he remained a revered figure at the Italian club, where he won two Serie A titles.
He also played for Barcelona, Sevilla, Boca Juniors and Newell’s Old Boys and was most recently manager of Gimnasia y Esgrima in La Plata, Argentina.
It is understood UEFA will hold a minute’s silence at all of tonight’s Champions League matches in Maradona’s memory.
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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