CELEBRITY
Edinson Cavani to concede No. 7 to Ronaldo to keep Brand CR7 alive!
Manchester United are working amicably with Edinson Cavani to make him drop shirt number 7 for returnee, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese looked to be heading to Manchester City but following a phone call with his former boss, Sir Alex Ferguson opted to rejoin the club that launched his career at just 18.
Ronaldo was handed the number 7 shirt at United when he put pen to paper the first time round in 2003.
He went on to wear the same number at Real Madrid and finally Juventus, and is known around the world for his CR7 brand.
But it is looking like the Portugal international forward may not get to wear his iconic shirt number upon his return to Manchester United, as it has already been assigned to Edinson Cavani.
United would no doubt rather Ronaldo wear the number 7 due to the immense marketing potential.
And there may be a way the Red Devils can hand the 36-year-old his desired number this season, although it requires them asking the Premier League for special dispensation.
Whether the Premier League would agree to the swap remains to be seen, but it seems United already have the perfect solution in place to ensure Cavani isn’t left with a number he doesn’t want.
The current owner of the number 21 shirt at Manchester United is Dan James, who is in the process of completing a permanent £30million switch to Leeds.
Cavani wears the same number for Uruguay so could in theory swap to the number 21 and hand Ronaldo the 7 shirt once James says his goodbyes at Old Trafford.
Of course, as aforementioned, the Premier League will have the final say on any last-minute switches.
But if the audacious plan falls into place then everyone is happy at Man United.
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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