CELEBRITY
Barcelona face “complications” as Messi’s contract expires
Lionel Messi is now a free agent and Barcelona president Joan Laporta remains confident that he won’t be heading elsewhere… despite the club’s financial “complications”.
The Argentine superstar is officially a free agent after his contract expired at midnight on Wednesday.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner – currently on international duty at the Copa America – has allowed his contract to run down and has been free to talk to clubs outside of Spain since January.
According to British tabloid, Mirror, both Manchester City and PSG have been keen to snap up the 34-year-old, but in recent months – following the exit of Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board and the return of Laporta – it has looked increasingly likely that he will continue his career in Catalunya.
Certainly, that is what Laporta himself believes, telling El Transistor on Wednesday night: “We want Messi to stay and Leo wants to stay, everything is on track.
“We have the issue of fair play, we are in the process of finding the best solution for both parties.”
In Spain, the media is urging calm, seemingly in little doubt that he will remain in La Liga. For his part, Messi wants to remain but it’s not all agreed yet.
But that issue of fair play is one that is making life very difficult for the Blaugrana board at present.
With the club in £1bn worth of debt, they have been able to bring in free agents – Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia – but must sell; Junior Firpo is expected to join Leeds and other bit-part players are being moved on.
But while most members of the first-team squad, including Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho, are available for transfer, finding a willing buyer isn’t so simple.
Barca have been paying extortionate wages, well above market value, for a number of years, while also dishing out regular renewals to veterans. Those moves have proved a major drain on resources, and potential suitors are regularly scared off by the potential contract demands of big names – on top of big-money fees.
La Liga president Javier Tebas is ready to make life difficult for the club following their role in the European Super League – a project the club had hoped to use to generate funds, blindly following Florentino Perez’s rhetoric that it is a necessity to ensure their future.
“We are in a very complicated economic situation; in the market there is no money, you have to remove and change things – that’s why there’s the Super League,” Said Laporta, ignoring the fact Barca could instead attempt to spend money smarter.
“Javier Tebas has to be clear that the Super League will not affect the Spanish League; Barca will want to win the league every year.
“Sooner or later the English clubs will regret the decision they have taken to leave the Super League.”
And Laporta added: “When I arrived in 2003, and as it was all new, we made a small revolution and everything went well. Now I am rejuvenating and people are very excited.
“The challenge is enormous because it is going to demand a lot of us and I like it because I am prepared.”
He and Barcelona are not yet prepared for life without Messi.
But while he’s a free agent, and with the club’s financial situation still messy (no pun intended), no matter how unlikely it may seem, the possibility of him heading elsewhere remains
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- World Cup7 days ago
Victor Osimhen qualifies South Africa for World Cup as Super Eagles go for Play-Off
- World Cup1 week ago
Judgment Day Beckons in Group C: Only One Ticket, Three Contenders, Infinite Drama
- FIFA RANKING4 days ago
Nigeria Jumps Four Places in New FIFA Rankings; Stirs Optimism in Local Football Circles
- World Cup1 week ago
Super Eagles Stranded in Angola After Aircraft Suffers Cracked Windscreen
- Nigerian Football1 week ago
Serial offenders, Kano Pillars Fined ₦9.5m, Banished to Katsina
- World Cup1 week ago
Akor Adams Becomes Nigeria’s 61st Scoring Debutant
- CAF Champions League3 days ago
Two Decades After Their Defeat, Mamelodi Sundowns Return to Abeokuta
- AFCON6 days ago
Tinubu Hails Super Eagles’ Spirit, Assures Support Ahead of World Cup Play-Offs