CELEBRITY
More troubles for fading star: Ronaldo is sidelined then eclipsed by stand-in Ramos
Portugal manager Fernando Santos said Ronaldo’s place in the remainder of the World Cup still had to be ‘defined’.
The world of football punditry was ablaze with speculation and opinion after Portugal’s superstar striker Cristiano Ronaldo – wearing a substitute’s bib – sat out most of the Portugal vs Switzerland World Cup game that saw the Portuguese side stride into the quarter-finals with a 6-1 win.
Adding fuel to the fire on Tuesday, Portugal’s manager Fernando Santos said Ronaldo’s role for the remainder of the World Cup tournament is still to be “defined”.
When asked directly if Ronaldo would play against Morocco in the quarter-final showdown on December 10, Santos replied bullishly: “Ronaldo will definitely (be involved), all the players on the bench can be used, if they are not in the starting lineup, they can play later.
“It is important to look at the example of this player’s history, he is one of the best players in the world at playing professionally, being captain – all we have to do is think about this team collectively,” he said.
But, earlier, Ronaldo cut a solitary figure as he walked off the field following the match against the Swiss in which he was far from the centre of attention.
Chants of “Ronaldo! Ronaldo!” had swept around the 89,000-seat Lusail Stadium – the biggest stadium at the World Cup – and then loud jeers when the fans realised their idol wasn’t starting for the team.
Ronaldo had come off the bench very late in a game that moved Portugal into the quarter-finals and saw his 21-year-old replacement, Goncalo Ramos, score a hat-trick in his first full debut for Portugal’s national team. It was also the first hat trick of the World Cup tournament.
Ronaldo, 37, congratulated Ramos at midfield at the end of the match, then walked towards the Portugal section of fans and briefly clapped in their direction. But, as the rest of his squad had their moment of fan appreciation, Ronaldo left his teammates behind and walked off alone through the tunnel – perhaps wondering where his career goes from here.
He is currently without a club after leaving Manchester United midway through the World Cup, and he does not appear to be assured a place in the forthcoming quarter-final.
Ronaldo breezed through the post-match interview area with a huge grin on his face, only responding to one question: Was he happy?
“Of course, of course,” the superstar grinned. “Portugal won.”
But it’s not all smiles inside the Portugal camp.
As a writer for an Indian sports magazine asked: “Can one man’s absence make a team better? The answer might not be the one that Cristiano Ronaldo fans want to hear.”
‘Those issues have been solved’
Portugal’s manager Santos had expressed frustration with Ronaldo the day before he was benched for the Switzerland game.
Santos said the decision was tactical and not disciplinary, but he had acknowledged on Monday that he was bothered by Ronaldo’s poor attitude after he pulled him late in a 2-1 loss to South Korea in the final of the group games.
“I think those issues have been solved. I said that in my last press conference and I repeat myself: This is something which is finished, solved,” Santos said.
“I have a very close relationship [with Ronaldo]. I have known him since he was 19 years old in Sporting,” he said.
“I think Ronaldo and I never misinterpret the human and personal aspect with that of manager and player, and what we need to do during the match,” he added.
“That is what we will do. I will always consider he is a very important player to have in the team.”
Dropping Ronaldo from the lineup on Tuesday, Santos started Ramos, a little-known forward who made his international debut just three weeks ago.
But what a start it was: Ramos scored on just his fourth touch of the game in the 17th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 lead. He then added goals in the 51st and again in the 67th minute.
“Not even in my wildest dreams did I think about being part of the starting team for the knockout stage,” Ramos said through a translator after being named player of the match.
Those three goals instantly made Ramos one of international football’s hottest prospects though many may not have even known his name before Tuesday.
Standing in for Ronaldo has changed everything.
“Most people in the world had never heard about him until today,” Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes said of Ramos after the match.
Fernandes was also the only member of the Portugal squad to indicate that Ronaldo was displeased at being benched. He also seemed prepared for the controversy surrounding Ronaldo and stood firm in defending him as a Portugal team representative tried multiple times to pull him away from reporters.
“We won the first two games with Cristiano in the first 11, and it could be that if Cristiano played, he could score three goals and no one would be speaking about Cristiano being on the bench,” Fernandes said.
“I don’t think people should be talking about Cristiano and why he’s not playing, because when Cristiano plays and the team wins, no one talks about that,” he said.
“When Cristiano plays and the team loses, everyone talks.”
Fernandes called Ronaldo “the most famous player in the world. No one is more famous than Cristiano in sports, not in football, in sports.”
When asked about Ramos’s reaction to getting the start, he defensively turned the question towards Ronaldo.
“Do you think anyone likes to be on the bench?” Fernando said. “I don’t think Cristiano would be happy. If the manager put me on the bench in the next game, I would be angry.”
Asked if Ronaldo spoke to him before the game, Ramos said the issue of being benched did not come up among the players.
“Honestly, in our team, no one talked about it. Cristiano as our captain, as he always did, he helped us, he gave encouragement to us, not only to myself but our team-mates.”
Now with the crucial quarter-final match against Morocco on Saturday, Santos may have to decide whether to stick with Ramos or restore Ronaldo – the top scorer in men’s international football and one of the game’s greatest-ever football players.
Santos’s choice will be watched closely for more signs of one star rising and another fading.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
Diego Maradona’s death “would have been avoided” if the medical team around him had done their job, his daughter Dalma accused on Tuesday at the trial of health professionals of the circumstances of the death of the Argentine football idol
Dalma, 38, the elder of Maradona’s two daughters with his ex-wife Claudia Villafañe, was a star witness on the 11th day of the trial in San Isidro (north of Buenos Aires). And like others since the start of the trial, she blamed the caregivers of her father’s final weeks and the framework of his convalescence.
” If they had done their job, (his death) would have been avoided,” Dalma said, referring to the medical team and in particular to three of the accused: attending physician and neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Diaz.
” They deceived us (the family) in the most cruel way (…) They made us believe that the only possible option was to convalesce at home after his operation, in a house that was rented for the occasion in Tigre (north of Buenos Aires),” Dalma said.
According to them, ” it would be a serious home hospitalisation,” Diego would have everything like in a clinic, but in a house,” with 24/7 medical attention, medical equipment, an ambulance at the door permanently, she continued.
” It never happened,” she said in a statement often interrupted by tears. In this “disgusting, piss-smelling ” house, a doctor only came to see him from time to time.”
Maradona died at the age of 60 on November 25, 2020, from a cardiorespiratory crisis complicated by pulmonary oedema, in this private residence, where he had been convalescing for two weeks after neurosurgery for a head hematoma.
Seven practitioners – doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses – are accused of “homicide with possible intent”, characterised when a person commits negligence while knowing that it can lead to death.
Mr. Luque, who was close to Maradona, ” was his primary care physician, and I didn’t think he was recommending something that wouldn’t be best for my father,” Dalma continued.
With his sister Gianinna ” we didn’t have much influence, we could say what we thought but didn’t decide anything .” Sometimes someone from the care team or from the entourage would say “that Dad was sleeping, sometimes that he didn’t want to see anyone,” that the best thing was not to disturb him. “
” In hindsight, we should have decided.”
Last Tuesday, Veronica Ojeda, ex-partner and mother of Maradona’s son born in 2013, testified that the star’s close entourage “kept him as if he were sequestered” in the last months of his life.
The practitioners on trial, who deny any responsibility for the death, are seeking sentences of 8 to 25 years in prison. The trial is expected to last until July, with one or two hearings per week.
–Le360 (with AFP)
Mexican referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava found out the hard way that there are consequences for seeking an autograph from eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup winner Lionel Messi — he was hit with a CONCACAF disciplinary sanction.
As the final whistle blew on Inter Miami’s 1-0 Champions Cup win over Sporting Kansas City, secured by a brilliant second-half goal from Messi, the referee known as ‘El Gato’ approached the Argentina international.
He appeared to be asking for the striker’s shirt to join the Messi-mania, but it turned out he was actually requesting an autograph for a relative with special needs.
Despite the heartfelt request, Ortiz’s actions did not comply with CONCACAF’s code of conduct for officials.
“Upon investigation, CONCACAF has learned that the referee approached the player to request an autograph for a family member with special needs,” the North American football governing body said in a statement to ESPN.
Although the exact nature of the disciplinary action was not disclosed, CONCACAF added that Ortiz accepted full responsibility for his actions and apologised for his breach of protocol.
The first leg of the premier continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean was initially postponed due to a winter storm warning in the area.
Inter Miami will host Sporting in the return leg at Chase Stadium on Tuesday.
“The referee’s actions were not in accordance with the confederation’s code of conduct for match officials and the procedures in place for these types of requests.”
Reuters
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The world’s top athletes don’t just dominate on the field—they lead the way financially, too.
From football icons to basketball superstars, these elite performers are earning staggering sums through salaries, endorsements, and off-field ventures.
Using data from Sportico, sportsunlimitednews breaks down the top 10 highest-paid athletes globally.
10. Jon Rahm
On December 2023, Jon Rahm announced he was joining LIV Golf after a very successful stint at the PGA, earning 11 PGA Tour wins since joining in 2016. Now signed under LIV Golf, the Spaniard is considered one of the best-paid athletes in the world, accumulating $85.6 (€82.3/£68.55) million in winnings and $20 (€19.2/£16) million on endorsement deals
9. Kylian Mbappe
Following his massive transfer to Real Madrid in 2024, Kylian Mbappe is now ranked the 9th highest-paid athlete in the world. The French forward earns $85 (€81.6/£68.9) million in salary and $25 (€24/£20) million in endorsements, totalling $110 (€105/£88) million—a ‘galactico’ price tag for one of the best players in the world.
8. Karim Benzema
Another former Real Madrid star, Karim Benzema is ranked amongst the top ten best-paid athletes in the world following his move to Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia). The French striker earns $108 (€103/£86.4) million alongside $8 (€7.6/£6.4) million in endorsements.
7. Oleksandr Usyk
Up next, we have an undisputed heavyweight champion, who took down Tyson Fury for a second time in 2024. Oleksandr Usyk is arguably one of the best fighters in the world right now, and his earnings reflect that. The Ukrainian makes an average of $120 (€115/£96) million in winnings alongside $2 (€1.9/£1.6) million on endorsements, standing on $122 (€117/£97.7) million.
6. Neymar Jr.
Neymar Jr. is in the final stages of his professional football career. The former Barcelona and PSG man has enjoyed a successful stint across multiple teams around the world. Now in Santos FC, the Brazilian star is still considered one of the highest-paid players in the world, earning a $108 (€103/£82) million salary and $25 (€24/£20) million in endorsements.
5. LeBron James
The Los Angeles Lakers veteran and NBA star is ranked fifth in the world following his jaw-dropping $85 (€81.6/£68.3) million endorsement deals with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Alongside his endorsements, he cashes in a salary of $48.2 (€46.3/£38.6) million a year.
4. Lionel Messi
The Inter Miami star has one of the most lucrative contracts in world football. The Argentinian forward earns $60 (€57.6/£48) million a year, alongside $75 (€72/£60) million on endorsement deals. He is linked to Louis Vuitton, Mastercard and Pepsi.
3. Tyson Fury
The ‘Gypsie King’ is ranked third in the world, despite his recent losses and retirement announcement in late 2024. Fury cashed in $140 (€134.4/£112) million in winnings alongside $7 (€6.7/£5.6) million in endorsement deals, a very fruitful 2024 for the former British heavyweight champ.
2. Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry can still boast of having the highest-paying salary in the NBA for the eighth straight year. According to ESPN, his Golden State deal is worth around $55 (€52/£41.2) million this season. On top of that, the American point guard earns $100 (€95/£79.9) million in endorsements.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo still ranks at the top as the best-paid athlete in the world. The Al-Nassr star earns a jaw-dropping $215 (€206/£171.9) million salary, alongside $45 (€43.1/£35.9) in endorsements from Armani, Herbalife, TAG Heuer, and Clear Shampoo.
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