CELEBRITY
Cristiano Ronaldo set to complete Man United return after day of high transfer drama
Manchester United capped a day of high-transfer drama by agreeing a deal for Cristiano Ronaldo to return to the club, after rivals Manchester City had a reported change of heart.
The transfer is subject to the agreement of personal terms, visa and a medical, but the 36-year-old appears set to leave Juventus to rejoin the club where he won eight major trophies between 2003 and 2009.
Fan favourite Ronaldo’s return generated so much excitement that United’s website crashed shortly after they announced the deal, while the club’s share price rose nearly 7 per cent to US$18.47.
Initial media reports had said Ronaldo, who told Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri he wanted to leave the Turin club on Thursday, was likely to move to United’s rivals City, but Sky Sports said the Premier League champions had decided against doing a deal.
Financial details were not disclosed, but the BBC claimed the fee was €15 million (S$24 million) for Ronaldo up front, with €8 million added on. Sky Italia said he will sign a two-year contract worth 480,000 pounds (S$890,000) a week.
The day of drama started when Allegri, speaking ahead of Juve’s Serie A clash with Empoli this weekend, said Ronaldo had informed him on Thursday of his decision to leave the club.
“Yesterday, Cristiano told me that he no longer plans to play for Juventus,” he told a news conference.
“This is why he will not be called up tomorrow. He did not train yesterday. He told his team mates this morning. I am not surprised at anything, in football there is the market and there are the needs of individuals.
“He made his choice. Life goes on.”
Ronaldo, who won two Serie A titles and a Copa Italia trophy during his three years in Turin, posted a farewell message to Juve fans on Instagram later on Friday.
“Today, I leave a wonderful club, the largest in Italy and certainly one of the largest in Europe,” he said. “I gave my heart and soul for Juventus and I will always love the city of Turin until my last days.
Beautiful history
“I can look back and realise that we have achieved great goals, not all we wanted, but still, we have written a beautiful page of history together.”
Allegri’s comments sparked a media frenzy, with reports in both the Italian and British media claiming Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, had already agreed personal terms with City – a move that would have proved controversial given their rivalry with United.
City coach Pep Guardiola said the power was in Ronaldo’s hands.
“I cannot say much,” said the Spanish coach when asked about Ronaldo at a news conference to preview Saturday’s home match against Arsenal.
“Only I can say that in this three or four days left until the transfer window shuts, everything can happen.
“In my personal view there are few players that, and I think Cristiano Ronaldo is included and (Paris St Germain’s new signing Lionel) Messi of course, decide where they are going to play.”
But United had not given up hope of securing a return to Old Trafford for a player who spearheaded one of the most successful periods in the famous club’s history.
“We’ve always had good communication,” United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of his relationship with Ronaldo.
“I know (United’s Portugal midfielder) Bruno (Fernandes) has been talking to him as well and he knows what we feel about him. And if he was ever going to move away from Juventus he knows we’re here,” he told a news conference on Friday.
-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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