CELEBRITY
I’m no superhero, new Cruzeiro owner Ronaldo tells fans
Ronaldo bought Cruzeiro this weekend but the World Cup winner has appealed to fans of the Brazilian club that gave him his start as a player not to treat him like a superhero but as a committed administrator who can help the struggling team.
A 16-year-old Ronaldo made his professional debut with Cruzeiro in 1993 before going on to become one of the greatest centre forwards in footballing history.
Now a confident businessman with interests in soccer and sports marketing, the former Real Madrid player paid 400 million reais ($70 million) on Saturday for a controlling stake in the Belo Horizonte club.
Cruzeiro are one of Brazil’s biggest teams but have been stuck in the second division for two years and face a third season in Serie B in 2022.
They are also deep in debt but Ronaldo asked fans who celebrated his purchase to be patient.
“It’s time to return,” he wrote on Instagram. “It’s my turn to try and open doors for the team. Not as a hero. Not with superpowers to single-handedly change reality. But with immense responsibility. With intelligent and sustainable management for medium- and long-term growth.”
“I don’t have all the answers to the questions that I ask myself and I possibly won’t have all the answers to the questions that you will ask me,” he wrote in an open letter to fans.
“What I do know is that the kid who learnt at Cruzeiro that dreams can come true today makes me believe that it is possible to rescue the club from its crisis.”
It is the second foray into management for Brazil’s former PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Barcelona and Corinthians striker. Ronaldo bought a 51% stake in Spanish club Real Valladolid in 2018.
The Cruzeiro deal came just months after the Brazilian Congress sanctioned a law that allows its football clubs, historically fan owned and closed off to outside investors, to become businesses.
Ronaldo pitched the transaction as the first of many he and his advisors say could transform football in the South American nation.
“We are starting a new chapter in the history of the club,” he said. “I am coming back because I believe Cruzeiro can come back. I’m returning to be part of change in Brazilian football.”
($1 = 5.6959 reais)
-Reuters
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
Black Bulls Edge Rivers United 1–0 in CAF Champions League Clash
Super Eagles Share Goals Among 10 Scorers as Osimhen Nears Yekini’s Record
National Institute for Sports to Establish South-West Zonal Office in Ogun State
- World Cup1 week ago
CAF Rule Change May Boost Nigeria’s World Cup Qualification Hopes
- World Cup4 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 RANKING1 day 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