CELEBRITY
Maradona’s Doctors Face Murder Charge
Seven people under investigation over the November death of death of footballing legend Diego Maradona face charges of premeditated murder, AFP has learned from a judicial source.
The accused – which include Maradona’s neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Diaz – face eight to 25 years in prison if found guilty.
The indictment is based on findings by a board of experts into Maradona’s death from a heart attack last year, a source from the San Isidro Attorney General’s Office, which is leading the investigation, said Wednesday.
That report concluded that the footballing icon received inadequate medical care and was left to his fate for a “prolonged, agonising period” before his death, which came just weeks after undergoing brain surgery on a blood clot.
“After so many injustices, the case has come full circle,” the source told AFP.
The accused are prohibited from leaving the country and must appear ahead of an inquiry between May 31 and June 14.
The legal proceedings were prompted by a complaint filed by two of Maradona’s five daughters against Luque, who they blamed for their father’s deteriorating condition after the brain surgery.
Prosecutors believe Maradona’s death was not the result of malpractice or negligent actions of his doctors, but that they knew the former football star would die and did nothing to prevent it.
The prosecutors obtained a series of messages and audio that show that the medical team were aware that Maradona was using alcohol, psychiatric medication and marijuana in the last months of his life.
Among the conclusions of the report, the medical board said that “the signs of life risk” shown by the former Naples and Barcelona star were ignored, and that his care in his final weeks was “plagued by deficiencies and irregularities”.
The recriminations and accusations over Maradona’s death are taking place alongside another case, over his disputed inheritance, involving his five children, his brothers and Matias Morla, his former lawyer.
Maradona is an idol to millions of Argentines after he inspired the South American country to only their second World Cup triumph in 1986.
-AFP
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
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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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