CELEBRITY
BITTER HATRED! DI MARIA CHANGES TV CHANNEL WHEN MAN UTD PLAY
Angel Di Maria who scored the goal for Argentina that denied Nigeria the Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medal in football is extremely bitter about Manchester United. He was one of the more incredible transfer rumours to circulate during the football shutdown came from Italy last month.
Daily Mail reports that one media outlet suggested that Angel Di Maria could be on his way back to Manchester United from Paris Saint-Germain as part of a swap deal involving Paul Pogba.
Are they mad? Short of being dragged back to Old Trafford at gunpoint, Di Maria is about the last player you would expect to see wearing a United shirt again.
This is a man who made no effort to hide his dislike for the club long before his wife weighed into the debate spectacularly in a Spanish TV show on Wednesday morning.
‘I begged Angel, any place but England,’ said Jorgelina Cardoso, recalling Di Maria’s £59.7million move from Real Madrid to United in 2014. ‘One year later we were in Manchester – s***!’
Ms Cardoso lambasted the ‘disgusting’ food, English ‘dolls’ wearing too much make-up, and the ‘weird’ folk of Manchester. ‘You are walking and you don’t know if they are going to kill you or not,’ she claimed.
Her feelings on that last point were no doubt fuelled by an attempted burglary at their luxury home in Prestbury five months after Di Maria joined United when raiders tried to force their way into the rear of the property using scaffold poles.
The Argentine and his family moved into the Lowry Hotel and never returned to the house. It was a deeply unsettling experience from which they never quite recovered. That summer he joined PSG for £44.3m with United taking a £16m hit on what had been the biggest transfer in the history of British football.
There was much more to Di Maria’s failure to settle in England than issues off the pitch, however.
For a start, he had no wish to be at Old Trafford in the first place, insisting that he had effectively been forced out of Real Madrid after helping the club win a 10th European Cup.
‘My intention was always to stay at Real,’ he said later. ‘After winning La Decima, I went to the World Cup with the hope of receiving the nod from the directors, which never came.
‘Many lies were spoken. They always wanted to attribute a desire to leave the club, but it was not true. I ended up going to United.’
Life at Old Trafford started well with Di Maria scoring three goals in his first five games. But he did not agree with Louis van Gaal’s decision to move him from the wing to a more central position where he found himself with his back to goal and less room to run.
‘There were problems with the coach at the time,’ he said. ‘I started a game in one position and the next game in another. I scored goals playing in one position then suddenly the next game I was picked to play in a different position. This didn’t help me settle.
‘It’s up to the manager where and how every player should play, but I think every player should be comfortable in that position.
‘I’m very happy at PSG and it wasn’t the case over there. It’s more that they didn’t let me settle properly than I couldn’t settle.’
Di Maria’s only other goal after that opening flurry was against Yeovil Town in the FA Cup. In total, he scored just four times in 32 appearances. Figures that hardly justified his transfer fee.
After being shown a second yellow card for shoving referee Michael Oliver during a FA Cup defeat to Arsenal in January, he made just one more start on the final day of the season against Hull, lasting just 23 minutes.
No-one was shocked to see his stay brought to an end after one season, but it’s the depth of bad feeling towards his old club that is perhaps most surprising.
Di Maria’s teammate at PSG, Marcin Bulka, revealed that the 32-year-old Argentine ‘hates’ United so much that he insists on changing the channel if they are playing on television.
That antipathy was apparent when Di Maria returned to Old Trafford for the first time last season and set up both goals as PSG took a 2-0 lead that was spectacularly overturned in Paris.
He was the target for abuse, and at one point a beer bottle, from United fans and appeared to mouth obscenities at them after the opening goal.
So his wife’s comments are perhaps to be expected, even though her timing is a little peculiar. Maybe she’s heard those transfer rumours as well.
Diego Maradona’s death “would have been avoided” if the medical team around him had done their job, his daughter Dalma accused on Tuesday at the trial of health professionals of the circumstances of the death of the Argentine football idol
Dalma, 38, the elder of Maradona’s two daughters with his ex-wife Claudia Villafañe, was a star witness on the 11th day of the trial in San Isidro (north of Buenos Aires). And like others since the start of the trial, she blamed the caregivers of her father’s final weeks and the framework of his convalescence.
” If they had done their job, (his death) would have been avoided,” Dalma said, referring to the medical team and in particular to three of the accused: attending physician and neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Diaz.
” They deceived us (the family) in the most cruel way (…) They made us believe that the only possible option was to convalesce at home after his operation, in a house that was rented for the occasion in Tigre (north of Buenos Aires),” Dalma said.
According to them, ” it would be a serious home hospitalisation,” Diego would have everything like in a clinic, but in a house,” with 24/7 medical attention, medical equipment, an ambulance at the door permanently, she continued.
” It never happened,” she said in a statement often interrupted by tears. In this “disgusting, piss-smelling ” house, a doctor only came to see him from time to time.”
Maradona died at the age of 60 on November 25, 2020, from a cardiorespiratory crisis complicated by pulmonary oedema, in this private residence, where he had been convalescing for two weeks after neurosurgery for a head hematoma.
Seven practitioners – doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses – are accused of “homicide with possible intent”, characterised when a person commits negligence while knowing that it can lead to death.
Mr. Luque, who was close to Maradona, ” was his primary care physician, and I didn’t think he was recommending something that wouldn’t be best for my father,” Dalma continued.
With his sister Gianinna ” we didn’t have much influence, we could say what we thought but didn’t decide anything .” Sometimes someone from the care team or from the entourage would say “that Dad was sleeping, sometimes that he didn’t want to see anyone,” that the best thing was not to disturb him. “
” In hindsight, we should have decided.”
Last Tuesday, Veronica Ojeda, ex-partner and mother of Maradona’s son born in 2013, testified that the star’s close entourage “kept him as if he were sequestered” in the last months of his life.
The practitioners on trial, who deny any responsibility for the death, are seeking sentences of 8 to 25 years in prison. The trial is expected to last until July, with one or two hearings per week.
–Le360 (with AFP)
Mexican referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava found out the hard way that there are consequences for seeking an autograph from eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup winner Lionel Messi — he was hit with a CONCACAF disciplinary sanction.
As the final whistle blew on Inter Miami’s 1-0 Champions Cup win over Sporting Kansas City, secured by a brilliant second-half goal from Messi, the referee known as ‘El Gato’ approached the Argentina international.
He appeared to be asking for the striker’s shirt to join the Messi-mania, but it turned out he was actually requesting an autograph for a relative with special needs.
Despite the heartfelt request, Ortiz’s actions did not comply with CONCACAF’s code of conduct for officials.
“Upon investigation, CONCACAF has learned that the referee approached the player to request an autograph for a family member with special needs,” the North American football governing body said in a statement to ESPN.
Although the exact nature of the disciplinary action was not disclosed, CONCACAF added that Ortiz accepted full responsibility for his actions and apologised for his breach of protocol.
The first leg of the premier continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean was initially postponed due to a winter storm warning in the area.
Inter Miami will host Sporting in the return leg at Chase Stadium on Tuesday.
“The referee’s actions were not in accordance with the confederation’s code of conduct for match officials and the procedures in place for these types of requests.”
Reuters
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The world’s top athletes don’t just dominate on the field—they lead the way financially, too.
From football icons to basketball superstars, these elite performers are earning staggering sums through salaries, endorsements, and off-field ventures.
Using data from Sportico, sportsunlimitednews breaks down the top 10 highest-paid athletes globally.
10. Jon Rahm
On December 2023, Jon Rahm announced he was joining LIV Golf after a very successful stint at the PGA, earning 11 PGA Tour wins since joining in 2016. Now signed under LIV Golf, the Spaniard is considered one of the best-paid athletes in the world, accumulating $85.6 (€82.3/£68.55) million in winnings and $20 (€19.2/£16) million on endorsement deals
9. Kylian Mbappe
Following his massive transfer to Real Madrid in 2024, Kylian Mbappe is now ranked the 9th highest-paid athlete in the world. The French forward earns $85 (€81.6/£68.9) million in salary and $25 (€24/£20) million in endorsements, totalling $110 (€105/£88) million—a ‘galactico’ price tag for one of the best players in the world.
8. Karim Benzema
Another former Real Madrid star, Karim Benzema is ranked amongst the top ten best-paid athletes in the world following his move to Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia). The French striker earns $108 (€103/£86.4) million alongside $8 (€7.6/£6.4) million in endorsements.
7. Oleksandr Usyk
Up next, we have an undisputed heavyweight champion, who took down Tyson Fury for a second time in 2024. Oleksandr Usyk is arguably one of the best fighters in the world right now, and his earnings reflect that. The Ukrainian makes an average of $120 (€115/£96) million in winnings alongside $2 (€1.9/£1.6) million on endorsements, standing on $122 (€117/£97.7) million.
6. Neymar Jr.
Neymar Jr. is in the final stages of his professional football career. The former Barcelona and PSG man has enjoyed a successful stint across multiple teams around the world. Now in Santos FC, the Brazilian star is still considered one of the highest-paid players in the world, earning a $108 (€103/£82) million salary and $25 (€24/£20) million in endorsements.
5. LeBron James
The Los Angeles Lakers veteran and NBA star is ranked fifth in the world following his jaw-dropping $85 (€81.6/£68.3) million endorsement deals with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Alongside his endorsements, he cashes in a salary of $48.2 (€46.3/£38.6) million a year.
4. Lionel Messi
The Inter Miami star has one of the most lucrative contracts in world football. The Argentinian forward earns $60 (€57.6/£48) million a year, alongside $75 (€72/£60) million on endorsement deals. He is linked to Louis Vuitton, Mastercard and Pepsi.
3. Tyson Fury
The ‘Gypsie King’ is ranked third in the world, despite his recent losses and retirement announcement in late 2024. Fury cashed in $140 (€134.4/£112) million in winnings alongside $7 (€6.7/£5.6) million in endorsement deals, a very fruitful 2024 for the former British heavyweight champ.
2. Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry can still boast of having the highest-paying salary in the NBA for the eighth straight year. According to ESPN, his Golden State deal is worth around $55 (€52/£41.2) million this season. On top of that, the American point guard earns $100 (€95/£79.9) million in endorsements.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo still ranks at the top as the best-paid athlete in the world. The Al-Nassr star earns a jaw-dropping $215 (€206/£171.9) million salary, alongside $45 (€43.1/£35.9) in endorsements from Armani, Herbalife, TAG Heuer, and Clear Shampoo.
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