CELEBRITY
JUVENTUS DUO DANIELE RUGANI & BLAISE MATUIDI RECOVER FROM CORONAVIRUS
Juventus have confirmed that defender Daniele Rugani and midfielder Blaise Matuidi have recovered from the coronavirus.
Rugani became one of the first high-profile footballers to contract the virus, after testing positive in early March. The following week, news broke that his teammate Matuidi had also contracted COVID-19, while Paulo Dybala later tested positive.
The coronavirus has forced governments from around the world to announce a formal lockdown, as they look to combat the disease. Italy has been one of the worst affected countries in the world, though there have been signs of slight improvements in recent days.
Juventus have now provided a positive health update on both Rugani and Matuidi, confirming that both players have taken another test for the coronavirus, and both came back negative. As a result, they are no longer subjected to the home isolation regime.
In a short statement on the club’s official website, they announced: “Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi underwent, as per protocol, a double check with diagnostic tests (swabs) for the Coronavirus. The tests came back with negative results. The players have, therefore, recovered and are no longer subjected to the home isolation regime.”
As he began his recovery, Rugani explained that he felt ‘lucky’, but also added that he was missing those closest to him as he was staying away from them in a hotel.
The Italian has struggled for minutes this season, making just seven appearances in all competitions before football was suspended indefinitely. Out of these seven appearances, only three of them came in Serie A, leading to suggestions that he is ‘considering leaving’ Juventus.
As for Matuidi, he has been far more heavily involved than the defender, making 31 appearances in all competitions in 2019/20. The Frenchman’s contract was due to expire at the end of the season, but the club opted to exercise a one-year extension clause written into his current deal.
-90min
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
- Athletics5 days ago
Nigeria to Host First-Ever Africa Running Conference in Lagos
- FIFA RANKING1 week ago
Nigeria Jumps Four Places in New FIFA Rankings; Stirs Optimism in Local Football Circles
- Nigerian Football1 week ago
Jay-Jay Okocha Call Turns NPFL Boss to Instant Celebrity in Madrid
- CAF Champions League1 week ago
Remo Stars Host Mamelodi Sundowns in Crucial CAF Champions League Showdown
- Nigerian Football5 days ago
Tiger Street Football Tournament Heads for Grand Finale in Awka After Electrifying Weekend
- CAF Champions League1 week ago
Two Decades After Their Defeat, Mamelodi Sundowns Return to Abeokuta
- CAF Champions League1 week ago
Black Bulls Edge Rivers United 1–0 in CAF Champions League Clash
- Boxing5 days ago
Nigerian-Born Irish Boxer Daniel Fakoyede Targets Heavyweight Glory