CELEBRITY
NO MORE GRANDSTANDING: LIONEL MESSI CONSIDERING U-TURN TO BARCELONA
Indications have emerged that troubled Lionel Messi is considering staying at Barcelona and serve his remaining one year of his contract.
According to Mirror, his father and agent, Jorge Messi has revealed that there is a possibility that his son stays at Barcelona for the final year of his contract amid claims that the club captain is leaning towards abandoning his attempt to leave the Catalan giants.
The future of the Argentinean has been a a hot topic ever since he expressed his desire to leave the Nou Camp last month, citing what he believes to be an active clause in his contract that allows him to walk away for free.
Messi had become exasperated with events at the club, who suffered an embarrassing 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the restarted Champions League.
That led to the departure of Quique Setien as manager as well as Eric Abidal as sporting director, with Ronald Koeman stepping into the breach as the new coach.
With the saga surrounding Messi’s future the hottest topic in Koeman’s in-tray, the star’s father Jorge has been holding talks with Barca chiefs in a bid to thrash out his son’s future.
Now some reports in Argentina have begun to claim that Messi is leaning towards staying at the club for another season amid a lack of progress with his attempts to leave. Barca are remaining adamant that Messi will not be allowed to leave on a free transfer before the end of his contract as any such clause allowing him to do so has expired.
When a reporter from Spanish publication Deportes Cuatro asked Messi Snr if he was looking into the possibility that his son stayed at the club this season and left on a free next year, he simply replied: “Yes.”
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.
Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.
“We’ve made history, one billion followers! This is more than just a number, it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted on X.
“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey… thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player reached the milestone with over 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook and 113 million on X.
The 39-year-old topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes this year, with off-field earnings of $60 million, boosted by his large social media following.
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr will host Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
-Reuters
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.
The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.
A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.
Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.
-Reuters
Inter Miami will be the last club Argentina captain Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old forward said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.
Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 following his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions Paris St Germain.
“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi told ESPN.
“I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches… And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing with his national team to defend their Copa America title, with the tournament kicking off on June 20 in the United States.
Argentina will take on Canada in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.
-Reuters
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