CELEBRITY
Messi is not the GOAT; football trophies are won by a team of talents
Argentina’s Copa America triumph has put to bed the GOAT argument – Lionel Messi is not the greatest footballer of all time, or even his time. He wasn’t even Man of the Match in the final.
The point here is not to slag off the supremely skilful player, but La Albiceleste’s 1-0 win over Brazil has proven the football discussion should never have been all about the individual.
It would be sacrilegious to suggest that Messi didn’t play a key role in Argentina ending their 28-year major trophy drought.
Yes, with four goals and five assists, he did contribute heavily in getting them there.
But by his high standards, he was anonymous in the final. In the 88th minute, he was in the clear after a lovely through ball from the dynamic Rodrigo de Paul but lost control before he could pull the trigger. Fortunately for them, the profligacy was not punished.
This is not the Messiah in a Barcelona jersey seared in our memories, but it is actually consistent with his displays on the biggest stages in international football.
Just like in the 2010 World Cup and 2007, 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals, he went missing.
But this time, his teammates didn’t – De Paul released Angel de Maria for a cute lob in the 22nd minute that proved the match winner, and the team defended stoutly for the rest of the game.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni deserves the lion’s share of the credit for daring to change five players from the line-up that beat Colombia on penalties in the semi-final, ensuring fresh legs in key areas such as on the flanks, where both full-backs were changed. And of course, Di Maria came in for Nicolas Gonzalez.
This is in stark contrast to Brazil, who stuck with the same XI who beat Peru in their semi-final.
There was an over-reliance on Neymar to conjure magic, not dissimilar to how Argentina are on Messi over the years, but this time the Brazilian talisman was heavily shackled.
Even Harry Houdini needed an assistant, and this final is proof that strong teams, and not individuals, win tournaments. Gone are the days of Pele, Diego Maradona, and most recently Zinedine Zidane, where a single superhuman can carry the team to the title.
Spain won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008 and 2012 with a collective tiki-taka effort, France got rid of internal strife and united their considerable individual strengths to lift the 2018 World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo was not even on the pitch when Portugal scored the winner to nick Euro 2016.
Euro 2020 will follow the same vein. Regardless of who win, Italy have shown they have trust to match the talent in their squad, with Roberto Mancini having played at this competition all 26 players except third-choice goalkeeper Alex Meret.
England are also no longer fixated on a central figurehead like David Beckham or Wayne Rooney before, and not even on Harry Kane now. Goals have been coming in from an off-form Raheem Sterling and their campaign has centred on team before self, with players producing the goods out of their natural positions.
Those from unfashionable clubs like Sassuolo (Manuel Locatelli) and Leeds United (Kalvin Phillips) can also play a part.
After the Copa America final, Messi acknowledged on Instagram the contributions of his low-profile goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, a former Arsenal bench player who saved three spot-kicks against Colombia and kept four clean sheets in eight games.
The post received four million likes in two hours, and Messi’s legacy will be enhanced by his first international trophy in 10 outings, but he knows he has his team to thank.
And as we savour some of these intriguing international football battles, perhaps it is instructive to remember this is ultimately a team sport and it can be rather pig-headed to obsess with singling out a GOAT.
-David Lee/The Straits Times
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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