CELEBRITY
Ten Hag happy to have unsettled Ronaldo at Man United
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag reiterated his stance that Cristiano Ronaldo will remain at Old Trafford despite the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s desire to leave for Champions League football.
Ronaldo missed the majority of United’s pre-season preparations with the club excusing him from a tour of Asia and Australia for family reasons.
The 37-year-old did return for a 1-1 friendly draw against Rayo Vallecano last weekend.
However, he made headlines again for leaving Old Trafford before the end of the game.
Ten Hag described that act as “unacceptable”, but also rounded on the media for focusing on Ronaldo when other players also left the stadium before full time.
“I told you before, we plan with the season (with him). We have a top striker and I’m really happy he’s here, he’s in the squad and we stick to that plan,” said ten Hag at his pre-match press conference ahead of his first competitive game as United boss at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday (Aug 7).
“There were many players who left, but the spotlight is on Cristiano and that is not right.
“I’m satisfied with the whole team. There is a good culture and Cristiano is working really tough and hard.”
After a disastrous campaign in which United finished sixth in the Premier League last season, an overhaul of the squad was expected over the summer.
Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata have departed after their contracts expired, but the Red Devils start the season with only three new signings – Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen.
A prolonged chase of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who starred previously under ten Hag at Ajax has so far proved fruitless.
“It’s about the right players,” added Ten Hag on the relative lack of transfer activity.
“I cannot give comments on a player who is under contract in another club. When we have news, we will bring it.”
United forward Anthony Martial will the Brighton due to a minor injury, but new signings Eriksen and Martinez could start, said ten Hag.
Martial scored three goals in friendlies in the pre-season after returning from his loan spell at Sevilla, and ten Hag is hoping the Frenchman will shake off the problem quickly.
“It is always difficult to say with these injuries, but hopefully not too long,” the Dutchman told reporters, adding that fans will have to wait until Sunday to see if Ronaldo will play up front.
-AFP/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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