CELEBRITY
Behold the two £22million luxury homes offered Lionel Messi in Paris
Lionel Messi’s dramatic departure from Barcelona earlier this month was the biggest football transfer story of the year.
The 34-year-old was forced to end a two-decade association with the Blaugrana as they could not register his new contract with authorities, while he subsequently joined Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year contract.
While the immediate focus has inevitably been on the sporting focus on the move with Messi integrating into his new club’s training sessions and preparing for his debut, his focus is now turning to personal practicalities.
According to UK’s Mirror, Messi has had to leave his long-term residence in Catalonia to make the move to Paris with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their three sons – Thiago, Mateo and Ciro.
Now there are a host of upmarket estate agents in the French capital bending over backwards to try and find a home for the Argentine superstar and his young family.
Messi and his family are currently residing in the five-star, £17,000-a-night Le Royal Monceau hotel in the city – and whilst those surroundings are particularly luxurious, it is not practical to base themselves there for the long term.
They are now being offered the choice between two plush pads in the French capital, each of which cost a little over £22million.
The luxury facilities at the prospective properties including swimming pools, personalised gyms and plentiful space.
Messi is earning £1million-a-week after signing for the French giants and many of his teammates are based in the west of the capital due to its close proximity to their Le Parc des Princes stadium and the club’s training ground.
Star forward Neymar, for example, lives in a five-storey, 10,800 square foot mansion in the fancy suburb of Bougival – located 15km from the centre of the city.
The area of Neuilly-sur-Seine has been suggested as a possible destination due to its ease of access not only to the club’s facilities but also to schools and facilities for the family.
The district of Villa Montmorency is another potential destination due to its prime location, luxurious home and its plentiful supply of restaurants and cafes.
Yvelines is to the north-west of the city and is thought to be an attractive possibility that would offer Messi and his family the relatively quiet life they seek, but its distance from the city may prove problematic.
It is still unclear if Messi is looking to buy or rent a property – he has only signed a two-year contract at the Parisian club so his stay in the city is unlikely to be a long-term one.
Many Parisians, even those who are extremely wealthy, live-in apartments – family homes that have gardens and the luxuries of high-end property often are not available within the city walls, particularly those that are rentals.
Earlier this month, Antonin Thomas of Daniel-Féau, who represents an estate agents who have secured properties for PSG stars previously, told Le Parisien as quoted by Diario AS : “They want to be treated like any client.
“They want the same as they have in Barcelona – a contemporary house with a very clean look, one that does not need any work done on it and has a garden and a swimming pool.
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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