CELEBRITY
Ronaldo ruthlessly taunted Man Utd pre-season friendly; even Sir Alex can’t convince him to stay
Cristiano Ronaldo was not named in the squad as Manchester United defeated Wrexham in a behind-closed-doors pre-season friendly at their Carrington base on Wednesday
According to Mirror, Ronaldo could only watch from the sidelines as his celebration was mimicked by a Wrexham player during the pre-season friendly.
The Portugal captain, 37, played no part in the fixture and his future at Old Trafford remains uncertain as he pushes to leave for a club which can offer him Champions League football this season. He missed the Red Devils’ tour of Thailand and Australia for ‘family reasons’ and only returned to their headquarters this week for showdown talks with manager Erik ten Hag.
United legend Sir Alex Ferguson was present for the discussions but Ronaldo remains reluctant to stay put this summer.
It was no surprise he sat out the behind-closed-doors fixture against Wrexham, but he was one of the senior players who watched an inexperienced United line-up win 4-1 against the National League side.
While Christian Eriksen fired the hosts into the lead on his debut with a free kick, the teams entered the interval on level footing after Aaron Hayden levelled for the Welsh club.
The defender, who was on the books at Chelsea and Wolves as an academy player, was clearly delighted to have scored against United and celebrated by copying Ronaldo’s famous “siu” routine, as reported by Wrexham insiders and podcasters RobRyanRed.
Although the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will not have been best pleased to see his famous celebration copied, the Red Devils had the last laugh. Alejandro Garnacho, Amad and Alex Telles struck in the second half to secure what was, in the end, a comfortable victory for Ten Hag’s side.
Eriksen was not the only debutant on the day, as Lisandro Martinez started in defence, fresh off his unveiling as a United player following his £55million arrival from Ajax. Upon putting pen to paper on his lucrative five-year deal, the Argentine declared he would give everything to making a success of his time at Old Trafford.
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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