CELEBRITY
FOOTBALL LEAGUES WORLDWIDE PAY TRIBUTES ON FIRST WEEKEND WITHOUT MARADONA
On the first weekend of sporting action since the death of Diego Maradona, sports, leagues and teams round the world on Saturday (Nov 28) paid tribute to the Argentine football great.
Those who knew or had played with or against Maradona, who died aged 60 on Wednesday, added poignant emotion to the commemorations often held in stadiums without fans.
In Valencia, former Argentina and Sevilla team-mate Diego Simeone clapped during the minute’s silence before his Atletico Madrid team won in the empty Mestalla.
In Liverpool, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti, who had faced Maradona in the Italian Serie A, teared up as the players clapped. Even without fans to spoil a silence, the Premier League has opted for a minute’s applause instead.
“He was my opponent and he became my friend,” Ancelotti said on Friday.
Saturday’s tributes started on a rugby pitch in Newcastle, Australia, where New Zealand rugby captain Sam Cane laid an All Blacks jersey emblazoned with Maradona’s name and shirt number, 10, in the centre circle ahead of the kick-off of the Tri-Nations international against Argentina.
The All Blacks then thrashed the Pumas.
“I think he is a legend to everyone, but in Argentina he was almost a god,” said Puma coach Mario Ledesma.
In Italy, Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands, there was a minute’s silence before kick-off.
In Italy, where the players wore black armbands, an image of Maradona appeared on the giant screens during the minute of silence before kick-off.
When his imaged appeared again on stadium screens in the 10th minutes, Serie A games stopped as players stood and clapped for 60 seconds.
In England, Sergio Aguero was not involved for Manchester City in their 5-0 thrashing of Burnley, but Pep Guardiola confirmed that was due to a small injury problem rather than the Argentine striker’s close family connection to Maradona.
Aguero was previously married to, and had a child with, Maradona’s daughter Gianinna.
Aguero posted a video of that tribute on Twitter with emojis of a heart and praying hands.
In 1986, Maradona scored twice to eliminate England in the World Cup. The first goal is known as the “Hand of God” and the second was Fifa’s Goal of the Century.
During the minute’s applause in Manchester, City played Maradona’s second goal against England in Mexico on the big screens. On Friday, the BBC rebroadcast the entire match.
‘Adios’
In France, players walked out to a recording of Maradona singing “La Mano de Dios” from Emir Kusturica’s biographical film about the player. The French league also invited the players to form the letter “M” in the centre circle during the minute’s silence.
Maradona produced a rare moment of harmony between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille as both clubs hung banners saying “Adios”.
At the Parc des Princes, the Argentine ambassador to France, Leonardo Constantino, unfurled the national flag from the stadium roof.
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman had said the best tribute was to “show what we can do on the pitch”, and after Marseille’s Argentine striker Dario Benedetto scored his first goal of the season in the win over Nantes, he celebrated by raising all 10 fingers.
In Huesca, the Sevilla team took the field wearing reproduction shirts from the season Maradona played with the club, all bearing his No.10.
Maradona’s other Spanish club, Barcelona, do not play until Sunday but in his press conference on Saturday, Koeman, who had faced Maradona once during the Argentine’s season in Sevilla, said he was proud he “had the chance to play against him”.
-AFP
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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For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The League of Wealthy Sportsmen
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2025
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