CELEBRITY
Ronaldo doubtful in Rangnick’s debut with Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly a major doubt for Manchester United‘s match against Crystal Palace on Sunday due to a knee injury. Therefore, he may be a glaring absentee in Ralf Rangnick’s debut as new manager of Manchester United.
The 36-year-old Portuguese scored twice on Thursday evening – including the winner from the penalty spot – as United beat Arsenal 3-2 at Old Trafford in Michael Carrick’s final game in charge as caretaker boss.
But The Sun claim Ronaldo may have injured his knee doing his trademark ‘siu’ celebration after smashing the penalty high into the net past Aaron Ramsdale with twenty minutes remaining.
The Portugal international demonstrated no immediate ill-effects, running the length of the pitch in 12 seconds to support a late counter attack in the 87th minute.
However, he was substituted for Anthony Martial with two minutes of the 90 remaining, and was seen walking awkwardly off the pitch.
If he is ruled out, it will come as a big blow to interim boss Ralf Rangnick, who is set to take charge of his first game against Patrick Vieira’s men on Sunday afternoon.
Rangnick was at Old Trafford on Thursday night to see Cristiano Ronaldo score twice in a 3-2 win over Arsenal, and insisted that it will not be a problem adapting the Portugal star into his fabled gegenpressing approach.
‘You always have to adapt your style or idea of football to the players you have available, not vice versa,’ he said.
‘Having seen Cristiano yesterday, at his age I’ve never seen a player who is still that physically fit. He’s still a player who can easily make the difference.
‘So it’s about how we can develop the whole team, not only Cristiano. What I saw from Cristiano, he is more than willing to do that, to put his input into the team. His team-mates will have to do the same.
‘It’s not about pressing for pressing’s sake, it’s about control. This is the major target.’
The German boss, 63, also saw Ronaldo reach another milestone while he was sat in the stands, with his first goal to put United 2-1 in front the 800th goal of his professional career.
It was the first time ever a male or female professional footballer in history had scored 800 competitive goals, and his penalty soon after took his tally to 801.
And less than 24 hours after breaking the 800-goal barrier, the Portuguese posted a video on Twitter paying tribute to his record, with a number of still images scattered in the background among replays of his many goals and celebrations during his career.
In his tweet, he added: ‘Very happy to become the first football player to score more than 800 official goals.
‘What an amazing and unforgettable run this is becoming… Thank you to all my supporters for always standing by my side. 801 and still counting!’
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.
Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.
“We’ve made history, one billion followers! This is more than just a number, it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted on X.
“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey… thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player reached the milestone with over 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook and 113 million on X.
The 39-year-old topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes this year, with off-field earnings of $60 million, boosted by his large social media following.
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr will host Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
-Reuters
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.
The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.
A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.
Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.
-Reuters
Inter Miami will be the last club Argentina captain Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old forward said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.
Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 following his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions Paris St Germain.
“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi told ESPN.
“I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches… And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing with his national team to defend their Copa America title, with the tournament kicking off on June 20 in the United States.
Argentina will take on Canada in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.
-Reuters
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