CELEBRITY
Solskjaer feels the good times roll again with Ronaldo
The celebratory atmosphere at Old Trafford, as Cristiano Ronaldo marked his return to the club with two goals in a 4-1 Premier League win over Newcastle United, left manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recalling the club’s best days.
Solskjaer, who played with Ronaldo towards the end of his career, said he had no hesitation in throwing the Portuguese striker straight into his side for his first game since his move from Juventus last month.
“I’m so happy for him, so happy for the team, the supporters, you can sense the atmosphere around the club since Cristiano signed but it could so easily have been an anti-climax because expectations were so high – but he has delivered again,” said the Norwegian.
Asked about the atmosphere at the ground – where fans stayed behind long after the whistle singing Ronaldo’s name – Solskjaer couldn’t resist the sense of nostalgia.
“It feels like the old days to be honest, it is special, Cristiano is a special man, a special player in the history of the club and coming here he has just shown his love for the club and the supporters love him, of course,” he said.
Solskjaer added that the 36-year-old has returned after 12 years an improved all-round product.
“He’s developed into a miles better footballer than when he was here, through the years. Sometimes he can drift up to the sides, you’re not going to use him as a battering ram. He likes to roam.
“He senses the big moments when to arrive in the box and I thought he played the game very, very mature. He gave one ball away. But he was very efficient with his football,” he said.
Bruno Fernandes crowned the celebration with a long range goal to make it 3-1 and Solskjaer said he had no doubt that the pair could combine well together.
“Good players can always play together. They have a mutual respect and play for Portugal together,” he said.
But despite the euphoria of the occasion, Solskjaer wasn’t reading too much into the team going top of the standings after four games.
“It’s too early for me to predict where we’ll end up. We have to be consistent and let’s see where we are,” he said.
-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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