CELEBRITY
Cristiano Ronaldo breaks from long-time agent, Jorge Mendes
His agent, according to ‘Público‘, is Ricardo Regufe, although his image is still linked to Gestifute
Cristiano Ronaldo has ceased to be represented by his longtime agent, the Portuguese Jorge Mendes , after disagreements between the two over the future of the footballer’s career, according to reports in the Portuguese press.
The newspaper ‘Público’ reports that Jorge Mendes stopped being Cristiano’s representative in November, after the controversy between the striker and his club at the time, Manchester United.
Mendes , considered the most influential agent in the world of football, was against Cristiano’s explosive interview with English journalist Piers Morgan and his departure from Old Trafford.
Thus, and also due to the different opinions about the future of the player’s career, both chose to break their bond, which dates back to Cristiano’s beginnings as a professional at Sporting de Portugal.
The differences between the two would have started with the departure of Cristiano from Juventus in 2021, due to the difficulties in finding a team to meet the demands of the Portuguese star, who wanted a leading role and the Champions League.
Público also reports that his return to Manchester was marked by “bad behavior by Cristiano, most of them never made public”, and that they were “reason for United’s complaint to Jorge Mendes”.
Due to Cristiano’s delicate situation at United, absent in preseason and with few minutes in the team, Mendes tried to find him a new club, and in November he would have received the initial offer from Saudi Al Nassr, his new team.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo continued to have his eyes on Europe and hoped to have a good World Cup in Qatar that would find him suitors.
With the elimination of Portugal in the quarterfinals against Morocco (1-0), a match from which he left in tears, he chose to recover the offer from the Riyadh club, but without Mendes’ supervision.
His representative is now his compatriot Ricardo Regufe, who was linked to the American sportswear brand Nike for several years, and was the one who accompanied the player on his trip to Saudi Arabia. His image rights continue to be managed by Polaris, a company linked to Gestifute de Mendes.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, was finally presented as a new player for Al Nassr, from Saudi Arabia, in a grand ceremony attended by some 30,000 people.
-Marca
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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