CELEBRITY
Just imagine! A battle of GOATS: Cristiano Ronaldo reclaims Champions League record 24 hours after Lionel Messi equalled it
With 11 Ballon d’Ors between them, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi and Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo have set record after record every year for the past decade, each one is believed to be Greatest Of All Times (GOAT).
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely regarded as the two best footballers on the planet.
With 11 Ballons d’Or between them, the duo have set record after record every year for the past decade.
Their playing careers are starting to wind down now, with the pair both in their thirties.
But that doesn’t mean to say their rivalry isn’t as strong as it once was or that they’re suddenly incapable of taking centre stage at any given moment.
On Tuesday, Messi netted a brace as Paris Saint-Germain beat RB Leipzig 3-2 in the Champions League.
In doing so, Messi equalled Ronaldo’s record for goals scored against different clubs in the European competition (38)
With the Argentine breathing down his neck, Ronaldo knew he had to put in a performance against Atalanta on Wednesday night in Manchester United’s group game with the Italians.
Ronaldo had never scored against the Serie A club in the Champions League before, but that all changed as the striker reclaimed his record in typically empathic style.
He has now netted against 39 different teams in Europe, as first reported by the Manchester Evening News, one more than Messi.
Atalanta stormed into a two-goal lead against the Red Devils at Old Trafford on Wednesday, with United bottom of their group going in at half-time.
But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rallied his troops and they came out for the second half refreshed.
Marcus Rashford reduced the deficit before Harry Maguire found the target to draw the scores level.
Ronaldo then seized his moment to shine, latching onto a whipped Luke Shaw cross and heading home.
Solskjaer said of Ronaldo, after the result: “If anyone wants to criticise him for his work rate or attitude, just watch this game, watch how he runs around – he’s great in front of goal.
“I was really pleased with how he led the line. We asked him to run the channels and press more. We were at home and we wanted to get the crowd behind us.
“He did everything a centre-forward should do, leading the line and defending. The goal is just what he does better than most.”
-Mirror
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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