CELEBRITY
Is Ronaldo helping or hindering Manchester United?
Manchester United’s re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to be a no-brainer – the galvanising return of a club great with the swagger of a proven winner and guaranteed goals.
But is it more complicated than that? Is the presence of the Portuguese superstar at the fulcrum of the attack helping or hindering the team, who have made a stuttering start to the season?
United are preparing for Tuesday’s (Nov 2) Champions League encounter against Atalanta after a morale-boosting 3-0 win against Tottenham that helped ease the pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after their 5-0 hammering by Liverpool.
Ronaldo will go into the match on a high after ending a mini-drought in the league, scoring a superb volley and setting up Edinson Cavani for United’s second.
His Premier League return so far has been solid rather than spectacular by his own standards – four goals in seven Premier League matches – less than half of Mohamed Salah’s haul of 10 for Liverpool.
But he has made the difference in the Champions League, twice scoring dramatic late winners, against Villarreal and Atalanta, to haul United to the top of Group F.
Despite his goals, Ronaldo has been criticised for his lack of defensive work in a team that has kept just two clean sheets all season.
There have been hints that some of his teammates at previous club Juventus felt the same way but the former Real Madrid player says he will silence his accusers.
“I know when the team needs my help defensively,” he told Sky Sports. “But my role in the club is to win, help the team to win and to score goals – (the defensive side) is part of my job.
“The people who don’t want to see that is because they don’t like me but to be honest I’m 36, I win everything so am I going to be worried about the people who say bad things about me?
“I sleep good at night. I go to my bed with my conscience very good. Keep going with that because I will still close mouths and win things.”
Ronaldo’s return to United after he appeared to be on he brink of joining rivals Manchester City forced Solskjaer to rewrite his attacking blueprint.
The arrival of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has limited chances for fellow veteran striker Cavani, who impressed in his first season at Old Trafford last year.
Jadon Sancho, who sealed a highly anticipated big-money switch from Borussia Dortmund in July, has barely made an impact, still without an assist or goal.
And attackers Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, 20, were forced to sit out Saturday’s match at Tottenham to accommodate a front two of Ronaldo and Cavani – paired together from the start for the first time.
Solskjaer spoke of the value of experience after the win at Tottenham and he certainly needs his big players to step up for the sake of his own position.
Ronaldo is a serial winner but it remains to be seen whether he can prove the difference in a United team that lacks identity and cohesion.
The Portuguese superstar won the Champions League and three Premier League titles in his first spell at Old Trafford under Alex Ferguson.
He followed up with silverware at Real Madrid including four more Champions League titles and collected two Serie A titles with Juventus.
But even Ronaldo does not guarantee success.
In his three seasons in Turin, Juve never made it beyond the Champions League quarter-finals and Inter Milan also ended Juventus’ nine-year grip on Serie A last season.
Ronaldo is not the tricky winger he was in his earlier years, becoming more of an out-and-out striker, but he still has the ability to conjure up moments of magic.
One thing has not changed in his two decades at the top – it is impossible to ignore him.
–AFP
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Remo Stars Host Mamelodi Sundowns in Crucial CAF Champions League Showdown
Jay-Jay Okocha Call Turns NPFL Boss to Instant Celebrity in Madrid
Hakimi Rallies Morocco’s U20 Lions Ahead of World Cup Final Against Argentina
- World Cup1 week ago
CAF Rule Change May Boost Nigeria’s World Cup Qualification Hopes
- World Cup5 days ago
Victor Osimhen qualifies South Africa for World Cup as Super Eagles go for Play-Off
- World Cup1 week ago
BREAKING! Lookman Suspended for Crucial Benin Clash
- World Cup1 week ago
Judgment Day Beckons in Group C: Only One Ticket, Three Contenders, Infinite Drama
- FIFA RANKING2 days ago
Nigeria Jumps Four Places in New FIFA Rankings; Stirs Optimism in Local Football Circles
- World Cup1 week ago
Super Eagles Stranded in Angola After Aircraft Suffers Cracked Windscreen
- World Cup1 week ago
Akor Adams Becomes Nigeria’s 61st Scoring Debutant
- Nigerian Football1 week ago
GTI Assets Champions Football Investment as Catalyst for National Development