CELEBRITY
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer breaks silence on Man Utd agreeing Cristiano Ronaldo transfer
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expects Cristiano Ronaldo to give everyone at Manchester United a “buzz” after agreeing a sensational return.
Paperwork needs to be completed before the move can be officially announced, but the Portuguese star is returning to Old Trafford after 12 years away.
Ronaldo left in 2009 for a then world record fee after helping United win numerous league titles and the Champions League, whilst also winning his first Ballon d’Or.
He made it clear to Juventus he wanted to leave and the 36-year-old will join Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane as summer recruits.
Ronaldo’s return has created a real energy on the red half of Manchester and Solskjaer couldn’t speak highly enough of his new recruit.
“Of course the fans have been excited for the last couple of days, we all are of course,” he told the club’s website.
“He has had such a great career and he has been here before. Hopefully we can just finalise the paperwork and announce it. He is going to give everybody a boost, of course.
“I played with him, he’s a great player, he is a top human being, he is a top professional, so he will give everybody in the squad and everybody around the club a buzz.”
Ronaldo is set to make his second debut for the Red Devils against Newcastle on September 11.
United star Luke Shaw admitted the transfer has given the squad a new energy.
He said: “I feel like it’s given the club a massive lift, not just inside but also outside. Obviously it’s a big positive. He’s been one of the best players in the world for a number of years now.
“Everyone is excited for him to come in and not just learn from him but to be able to play with him too.”
Ronaldo has set new standards for goalscoring, breaking record after record.
At Juventus and Real Madrid he has continued to win silverware, but former United man turned pundit Gary Neville doesn’t believe Solskjaer’s side will deliver the title.
“No one can complain at Manchester United about the players they’ve signed this summer,” he said on Sky Sports.
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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