CELEBRITY
RONALDO FAILS 2ND COVID-19 TEST; LAMENTS NOT PLAYING AGAINST RIVAL, MESSI
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo has been left off Juventus’ team for Wednesday’s (Oct 28) Champions League clash against Barcelona in Turin, two weeks after testing positive for coronavirus.
The 35-year-old, the top scorer in the history of the competition with 130 goals, needed to test negative 24 hours before the game against his great rival Lionel Messi’s Spanish team.
A furious Ronaldo posted a photo on Instagram, with the comment: “Feeling good and healthy! Forza Juve! #finoallafine.” He added a comment on the swab tests used to detect the virus: “PCR IS BULLSHIT”.
Ronaldo, who has more than 241 million Instagram followers, removed the comment after an hour and a half.
Ronaldo first tested positive for Covid-19 on Oct 13 while playing with Portugal, and has been in self-isolation since returning to Italy.
According to Portuguese TV1, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has tested positive 18 times.
The match against Barcelona, which kicks off at 2000 GMT , will be the fourth missed by Ronaldo, who has no symptoms of the virus, and has posted photos of himself training on social media.
Footballing legends Ronaldo and Messi will now, all being well, meet in the reverse Group G fixture in Barcelona on Dec 8.
They have not faced off since the five-time Ballon d’Or winner left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018.
Barcelona and Juventus both won their Champions League openers – the Spaniards 5-1 at home against Hungary’s Ferencvaros and the Italians 2-0 at Dynamo Kiev.
Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci has been included in the list hours before kick-off having been uncertain with a thigh injury, with captain Giorgio Chiellini still out.
Spaniard Alvaro Morato, who scored both goals in Kiev, leads the Juventus attack alongside Argentine Paulo Dybala.
Andrea Pirlo faces Barcelona for the first time as a coach with his last Juventus game as a player a defeat by Barcelona in the 2015 Champions League final.
-AFP
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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