CELEBRITY
Ronaldo return puts Solskjaer on the clock at Man United
Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensational return to Manchester United on Friday (Aug 27) capped a transfer window that has made fans quickly forget the disappointment on the field, and uprising off it, that ended last season.
Just four months ago supporters stormed the Old Trafford pitch in protest at the club’s owners for their part in the failed European Super League project and a perceived lack of investment in the club, forcing the postponement of a Premier League clash with Liverpool.
In response, the Glazer family have sanctioned a transfer spend of nearly £150 million (S$280 million) with Ronaldo joining his former Real Madrid teammate Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho.
That investment has ramped up the pressure on United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to deliver the club’s first Premier League title since Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013.
Solskjaer is yet to win a trophy in his two-and-a-half years in charge with his mismanagement of losing the Europa League final on penalties to Villarreal in United’s final game of last season still fresh in the memory.
The Norwegian did not make a single substitution until 100 minutes had been played in Gdansk as United failed to make their far greater resources count.
A lack of strength in depth is not an excuse Solskjaer will be able to use this season if he does not end United’s wait for silverware.
‘Greatest of all-time’
Even at 36, Ronaldo is still one of the most prolific goalscorers in the game. The Portuguese netted 36 times for Juventus last season and won the Golden Boot at Euro 2020, scoring five goals in four games.
“He is a legend of this club, he’s the greatest player of all time if you ask me,”said Solskjaer of his former teammate.
He and Sancho, who cost a reported £73 million from Brorussia Dortmunf in June, join a stacked forward line of Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood.
Behind them Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba have already shone this season in a 5-1 thrashing of Leeds on the opening day of the Premier League season.
But a 1-1 draw at Southampton on Sunday exposed some familiar failings of Solskjaer’s reign that the recruitment of Ronaldo may solve.
The United manager can boast an impressive record against stronger opposition. He has beaten Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City four times in eight meetings and lost only twice in six clashes with Liverpool. Twice he’s won away to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
But too often United have performed poorly in the games they are expected to win.
Last season they finished 12 points behind City having dropped the same number of points against Crystal Palace and relegated Sheffield United, West Brom and Fulham.
“That was the difference against Southampton, we weren’t clinical, we didn’t take our chances,” added Solskjaer. “We had as many, or even more, chances (as against Leeds). If you’re not ruthless in the box, you won’t win points in the Premier League.”
If Ronaldo’s predatory instincts turn those games into routine wins, the glory days of the Ferguson era could be back.
According to reports, Ferguson played a part in convincing Ronaldo to return to the club where he made his name on the world stage between 2003 and 2009 rather than risking his United legacy by crossing the Manchester divide to join City.
But there is a danger of the club harking back to their past rather than embracing the future.
Teenage striker Mason Greenwood has scored in both his side’s opening two league games of the season, but is likely to see his playing time curtailed by Ronaldo’s return.
“If other clubs can do things like this it is obviously not business for the future,” said Liverpool manager Klopp on Friday on the race for Ronaldo’s signature. “It is for now, immediately, that’s how some clubs are working.”
Until now, Solskjaer has been given time to slowly rebuild United as a force in England and Europe.
But with the resources afforded to him this summer comes responsibility and that means winning major trophies.
-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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