CELEBRITY
Messi’s Paris St-Germain deal worth $55m a year
Lionel Messi touched down in France on Tuesday (Aug 10) to finalise his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, after reaching a deal with the French club following his shock departure from Barcelona.
The Argentinian, 34, will undergo a medical examination before putting pen to paper in what will be one of the biggest transfer moves in history.
Football insider Fabrizio Romano confirmed the news earlier yesterday, tweeting that the forward, who over the weekend tearfully split with Barcelona after a 21-year career due to the Catalans’ inability to adhere to La Liga’s financial regulations, was on his way to the French capital.
He said: “Total agreement completed on a two-year contract. Option to extend until June 2024. Salary around €35 million (S$55.7 million) net per season, add-ons included. Messi has definitely accepted PSG contract proposal.”
His agent-father Jorge also told Spanish TV channel La Sexta yesterday that “yes, Leo’s gonna sign with Paris Saint-Germain”.
According to PSG, a press conference is set to take place at the Parc des Princes today.
New PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was last month named Player of the Tournament after leading Italy to the Euro 2020 trophy, yesterday expressed his excitement at the prospect of playing alongside Messi this upcoming season.
“I am happy if he comes to Paris,” Donnarumma told Sky Italia. “He is the best player in the world, I am excited and happy at the thought of having him in the team.”
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner would be the biggest capture yet of an eye-catching transfer window that has seen the French Cup winners sign Donnarumma, Netherlands midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum and Spain defender Sergio Ramos on free transfers and land Morocco full-back Achraf Hakimi for €60 million.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side began their bid to reclaim the Ligue 1 title from Lille with a 2-1 win at Troyes last Saturday and barring any unforeseen hitches, Messi could be included in the match-day squad as PSG host Strasbourg on Saturday.
Messi, the record goalscorer and appearance-maker for both Argentina and Barcelona, is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
The forward wept during a press conference on Sunday as he bade farewell to his boyhood team, after Barca said it could no longer afford to keep him, blaming the Spanish league’s fair play rules.
But Barca’s loss will be PSG’s gain as they seek to win their first Champions League title, which is sorely desired by the club’s Qatari owners since the 2011 takeover.
As football’s second billion-dollar team after Manchester City, PSG have a star-studded squad and one of the most formidable front lines in football, with Messi’s former Barca teammate Neymar and France striker Kylian Mbappe.
The imminent arrival of the Argentina skipper will make Pochettino’s men the favourites in every competition they are entered in, including the Champions League – the group stage starts next month.
The arrival of Messi, who has 245 million followers on Instagram and is Barca’s most decorated player of all time, is also welcome news for Ligue 1, currently embroiled in a crisis over TV rights.
The French top flight is generally considered the weakest and has the lowest profile of the “Big Five” European leagues, but all eyes will be focused on the competition as Messi gets set for a new adventure away from the only club he has ever played for.
-Reuters
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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