CELEBRITY
Cristiano Ronaldo coming back home…to Manchester United…
Cristiano Ronaldo has been linked with a return to Manchester United this week amid claims he is looking to leave Juventus.
The Portugal international requested to be named on the bench for the Old Lady’s Serie A opener with Udinese on Sunday, despite being fit to play.
Juve are adamant Ronaldo will not be leaving, but the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s agent Jorge Mendez is alleged to have made his client available for sale at £25million.
Juventus have not received any bids for the forward, and the club’s vice-chairman Pavel Nedved recently played down speculation that Ronaldo’s request to be left out of the starting XI was down to him pushing for an exit.
Nedved told DAZN: “Do not look for sensational things when there aren’t any.
“It was a joint decision with the coach because we’re at the start of the season and it is normal that he’s not fully fit.”
Juventus are seemingly confident they can fend off interest in their prized asset, but until the transfer window slams shut speculation will remain.
And Manchester United will continue to be linked with their former star turn.
Contact made
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer briefly played alongside Ronaldo at Manchester United, and the duo have remained friends since.
According to The Athletic, Solskjaer is in regular contact with the Portugal international, and is open to the idea of bringing him back to Old Trafford.
Ronaldo hasn’t spoken out about Solskjaer publicly in recent years, but he has previously discussed his relationship with the Norwegian.
In 2008, when Solskjaer was making the move into coaching, Ronaldo said of him: “He’s very good”. look for Ole like a man, not just coach now.
“He’s a fantastic guy and I have a great relationship with him.”
Sancho’s verdict
Manchester United splashed £73million on Jadon Sancho this summer in a bid to close the gap on Man City and win a first title since 2013.
Sancho is a huge fan of Ronaldo, admitting he modelled his game on the former Man United winger, and would seemingly be all for playing alongside him at Old Trafford.
“I feel like I’ve got different attributes to all the other players, but obviously Cristiano Ronaldo and what he’s done in his career is a fantastic thing,” said Sancho.
“Where he started at Sporting Lisbon and then he came to Manchester so it’s always good to see that all these iconic players have come through an iconic club.”
Glazer’s promise
Manchester United vice-chairman Joel Glazer made a promise to fans ahead of the transfer window, in which he revealed he’d be backing the club financially.
He said: “We want this club to always be successful and win trophies. To compete for trophies requires significant investment.
“The commercial growth at the club has helped deliver the revenue which ultimately underpins that investment in a sustainable manner.
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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