CELEBRITY
FOOTBALL LEAGUES WORLDWIDE PAY TRIBUTES ON FIRST WEEKEND WITHOUT MARADONA
On the first weekend of sporting action since the death of Diego Maradona, sports, leagues and teams round the world on Saturday (Nov 28) paid tribute to the Argentine football great.
Those who knew or had played with or against Maradona, who died aged 60 on Wednesday, added poignant emotion to the commemorations often held in stadiums without fans.
In Valencia, former Argentina and Sevilla team-mate Diego Simeone clapped during the minute’s silence before his Atletico Madrid team won in the empty Mestalla.
In Liverpool, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti, who had faced Maradona in the Italian Serie A, teared up as the players clapped. Even without fans to spoil a silence, the Premier League has opted for a minute’s applause instead.
“He was my opponent and he became my friend,” Ancelotti said on Friday.
Saturday’s tributes started on a rugby pitch in Newcastle, Australia, where New Zealand rugby captain Sam Cane laid an All Blacks jersey emblazoned with Maradona’s name and shirt number, 10, in the centre circle ahead of the kick-off of the Tri-Nations international against Argentina.
The All Blacks then thrashed the Pumas.
“I think he is a legend to everyone, but in Argentina he was almost a god,” said Puma coach Mario Ledesma.
In Italy, Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands, there was a minute’s silence before kick-off.
In Italy, where the players wore black armbands, an image of Maradona appeared on the giant screens during the minute of silence before kick-off.
When his imaged appeared again on stadium screens in the 10th minutes, Serie A games stopped as players stood and clapped for 60 seconds.
In England, Sergio Aguero was not involved for Manchester City in their 5-0 thrashing of Burnley, but Pep Guardiola confirmed that was due to a small injury problem rather than the Argentine striker’s close family connection to Maradona.
Aguero was previously married to, and had a child with, Maradona’s daughter Gianinna.
Aguero posted a video of that tribute on Twitter with emojis of a heart and praying hands.
In 1986, Maradona scored twice to eliminate England in the World Cup. The first goal is known as the “Hand of God” and the second was Fifa’s Goal of the Century.
During the minute’s applause in Manchester, City played Maradona’s second goal against England in Mexico on the big screens. On Friday, the BBC rebroadcast the entire match.
‘Adios’
In France, players walked out to a recording of Maradona singing “La Mano de Dios” from Emir Kusturica’s biographical film about the player. The French league also invited the players to form the letter “M” in the centre circle during the minute’s silence.
Maradona produced a rare moment of harmony between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille as both clubs hung banners saying “Adios”.
At the Parc des Princes, the Argentine ambassador to France, Leonardo Constantino, unfurled the national flag from the stadium roof.
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman had said the best tribute was to “show what we can do on the pitch”, and after Marseille’s Argentine striker Dario Benedetto scored his first goal of the season in the win over Nantes, he celebrated by raising all 10 fingers.
In Huesca, the Sevilla team took the field wearing reproduction shirts from the season Maradona played with the club, all bearing his No.10.
Maradona’s other Spanish club, Barcelona, do not play until Sunday but in his press conference on Saturday, Koeman, who had faced Maradona once during the Argentine’s season in Sevilla, said he was proud he “had the chance to play against him”.
-AFP
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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