CELEBRITY
Ageing stars drawn to Gulf for one last payday
Since Brazilian legend Rivelino joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in the late 1970s the Gulf region has become a lucrative haven as a final staging post for ageing stars.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who signed a two-year contract with Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr last Friday, is by far the biggest catch for the oil and gas-rich Gulf states.
With his earnings estimated at more than €200 million (S$280 million), the 37-year-old Portuguese forward is the latest in a long line of greats that have opted for quantity over quality: forsaking Europe’s elite leagues for a final huge payday.
However, if Al Nassr fans’ expectations are high they might be tempered by many examples – Brazil 1994 World Cup winners Romario and Bebeto in particular – of those who came, but failed to stay long or provide value for money for the wages they earned.
Rivelino did give it his all as he brought the curtain down on his 16-year career with Al-Hilal.
One of the stars of the 1970 World Cup-winning Brazil team, Rivelino brought global football attention to the kingdom for the first time.
He left his mark by winning the Saudi Professional League title, and scoring 39 goals.
The same year Rivelino joined Al-Hilal, his compatriot, Carlos Alberto Parreira made his way to Kuwait which then qualified for the 1982 World Cup – the only time the country has done so.
UAE push
In 1998, Al Nassr launched its own bid to attract top talent by signing Hristo Stoichkov, widely regarded as the greatest Bulgarian football player of all time.
Though his Saudi Arabia stint was short, Stoichkov helped Al Nassr lift the Asian Cup Winners Cup that season.
He was one of many who made cameo appearances for Saudi clubs.
Brazilian superstar and 1994 World Cup winner Bebeto only played five matches – scoring just one goal – before retiring in 2002.
Denilson, another Brazilian star who was once the most expensive player in the sport, played with Al Nassr for only two months in 2007.
Looking enviously on, the United Arab Emirates decided to take action and followed suit.
Liberian George Weah, 1995 Ballon d’Or winner, played with Abu Dhabi’s Al Jazira club for two seasons between 2001 and 2003.
Fabio Cannavaro, who led Italy to World Cup glory in 2006, joined the Al-Ahli club in Dubai for one season in 2011.
Qatar bid
Between 2003 and 2004, eventual World Cup hosts Qatar entered the fray by signing more than 30 international players.
These included French defenders Frank Leboeuf and Marcel Desailly, as well as Spain’s Pep Guardiola and Fernando Hierro, in addition to Argentina’s Gabriel Batistuta, who scored a record-breaking 25 goals in his first season with the Al-Arabi club.
That same season, Qatar’s top club – Al-Sadd – signed a 100-day contract valued at US$1.5 million with Brazilian legend Romario.
The former Barcelona star failed to score in the three matches he appeared in.
Al-Sadd’s more successful snatches include Spaniard Raul, who joined in 2012 and clinched the Qatar League title in his first season.
Al-Sadd then signed a contract with Spaniard Xavi in the summer of 2015 following his triumphant spell with Barcelona.
Xavi did not disappoint.
During his four seasons as a player, he won many local titles, most notably the Qatar league, which he also won again as a coach before he left in late 2021.
–AFP
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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For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The League of Wealthy Sportsmen
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2025
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