CELEBRITY
Messi’s dad denies Saudi Arabia move reports
Jorge Messi, the father and agent of Argentinian superstar Lionel, has refuted the news on Tuesday that the forward will play in Saudi Arabia next season on a “huge” deal.
A source, speaking on condition of anonymity and without naming the club that Messi was rumoured to be joining, told AFP that it was already a “done deal”.
“The contract is exceptional. It’s huge. We are just finalising some small details,” said the source, believed to be someone close to the negotiations.
But just a couple of hours later, Jorge said in a statement: “There’s absolutely nothing agreed with any club for next season.
“We will decide at the end of the season. Nothing is signed, agreed or verbally agreed. Only fake news using Leo’s name.”
Asked about the AFP report, Messi’s current club Paris Saint-Germain simply noted that the 35-year-old remains under contract until June 30.
But a separate PSG source said: “If the club had wanted to renew his contract, it would have been done earlier.”
The 2022 World Cup winner was suspended by Qatari-owned PSG last week for an unauthorised trip to Saudi, where he is a tourism ambassador.
He was seen with his family in what was reported to be a holiday trip in Riyadh.
The Argentinian has since apologised to the club and his teammates in a video posted on Instagram to his 460 million followers.
The “fake” news came a day after Messi was named the Laureus Sportsman of the Year during the awards ceremony in Paris, while sprint champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce bagged the top honour for women.
Messi also received an award on behalf of the Argentina men’s football team, who were named World Team of the Year after their triumph at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner had won the award once before, sharing it with British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton in 2020. He also became the first athlete to scoop both the World Sportsman of the Year Award and the World Team of the Year Award in the same year.
Jamaican Fraser-Pryce enjoyed an outstanding 2022, which included winning the 100m gold at the World Athletics Championships.
Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, who won the 2022 US Open and rose to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, was named the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year.
Christian Eriksen, who recovered from the cardiac arrest he suffered at the European Championship in 2021 to return to English Premier League football with Brentford and then Manchester United before competing at the 2022 World Cup with Denmark, received the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
AFP/ Reuters
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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