CELEBRITY
CORONAVIRUS-STRICKEN RONALDO GOES SUNBATHING
Portugal and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was said to be “fine and sunbathing” on Tuesday (Oct 13) after testing positive for the coronavirus, which has ruled him out of a midweek Nations League fixture with his country.
Ronaldo “is asymptomatic” and “will not play against Sweden” in Wednesday’s Nations League match, the Portuguese federation said on its website.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner played in Portugal’s goal-less Nations League draw against France in Paris on Sunday.
The federation added that the rest of the Portugal squad were “all negative” after tests on Tuesday morning, as was the France squad, according to the French Football Federation.
“We have respected all the health measures… and yet it happened,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos told a press conference.
“We have been doing tests every day.”
Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini said he had spoken to Ronaldo.
“He’s fine and was sunbathing, he’ll be back when he’s ready,” he reported.
The 35-year-old striker has scored 101 goals for Portugal and will be a huge absence for his team against Sweden as they aim to hold on to top spot in their group.
His contracting the disease is also a blow for Juventus, as the health protocol in force for Serie A says Ronaldo must self-isolate for 10 days and then record a negative test before he can resume playing.
That means Ronaldo will miss Juve’s Serie A match at Crotone on Saturday and their opening Champions League group stage game at Dynamo Kiev in a week’s time.
He also risks missing Juve’s Champions League clash with Barcelona on Oct 28, which was set to pit Ronaldo against his old rival Lionel Messi.
Chiellini said: “We footballers know we take risks, and we are ready to take them, trying to minimise them as much as possible with all the necessary precautions.
“We must move forward because we know that football is important economically, and for the social value. In the coming weeks there will be other closures, and I believe football is important to people.
“The real victory is to finish the season, the result is secondary.”
He added: “We cannot stop. We are not worried, but clearly we often talk about it among ourselves with the awareness of what lies ahead.”
Ronaldo’s test result reopens the controversy over his departure from Turin for the Portugal training camp, which was, according to local health authorities in Italy’s Piedmont region, a violation of the virus protocol.
Ronaldo and other Juventus stars left to join up with their national teams despite the Italian champions’ squad being in isolation after two staff members tested positive for the virus.
Roberto Testi, a director of the regional health authority, said that local prosecutors had been informed of the players’ unauthorised departure.
Ronaldo, who has also starred for Manchester United and Real Madrid, is the latest high-profile footballer to test positive for Covid-19, which has killed over a million people since the start of the pandemic earlier this
Brazil forward Neymar, his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic have also tested positive for the virus in recent weeks.
Premier League champions Liverpool placed Senegalese forward Sadio Mane and Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara in isolation after they tested positive last week.
Also last week, two of Ronaldo’s Portugal teammates – goalkeeper Anthony Lopes and defender Jose Fonte – returned positive tests, forcing them out of the Nations League fixtures.
The international break has been marked by a host of players contracting the virus as it continues its spread worldwide.
The Republic of Ireland had five players ruled out just before their Nations League draw with Wales after one squad member tested positive for the virus.
Meanwhile Ukraine had to draft in 45-year-old assistant coach Oleksandr Shovkovsky for last week’s 7-1 friendly defeat in France as the virus swept through the squad.
Ukraine also lost 2-1 to Germany on Saturday in the Nations League with 14 players missing either through injury or positive for the virus.
-AFP
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
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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
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For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The League of Wealthy Sportsmen
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2025
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