CELEBRITY
Pele brings sporting stars together for charity auction
Want a Brazil jersey owned by Pele? An All Blacks shirt signed by Dan Carter? A New York Yankees photo autographed by Derek Jeter? David Beckham’s AC Milan shirt?
Those items, plus others from Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe, are among 229 that will be up for sale next month at an auction organised by the Brazil football legend for the foundation he created in 2018 to help underprivileged children.
The 80-year-old, who is the only player to claim three World Cup winner’s medals and a man often called the greatest footballer of all time, said all monies raised will help Brazil’s fight against and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
So far 575,000 people have died in the largest South American country from Covid-19, the second-highest death toll in the world after the United States.
“Pele is such a legend, he’s an icon and other sports stars look up to Pele,” Martin Nolan, executive director and chief financial officer of Beverly Hills-based Julien’s Auctions, told Reuters.
“Because he was at home in his bubble he had the time to focus on this project.”
Pele has provided some of his own items for the Sept 22 auction but he has also called in favours from friends in the sports and entertainment worlds.
There are Brazil, Santos and New York Cosmos jerseys and photos autographed by Pele, and others signed by ex-Brazil teammates such as Rivellino, Jairzinho and Clodoaldo.
Mario Zagallo, the coach of the revered 1970 Brazil World Cup-winning side, who turned 90 earlier this month, also contributed as did Neymar, Italian Roberto Baggio and Cameroonian Roger Milla.
Pele’s foot
World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer signed a number of photographs from his NY Cosmos and West Germany days; there’s a match ball from the 2015 Champions League final; and shirts and equipment used in basketball, American football, field hockey and water polo are also up for grabs.
One of the items expected to fetch a high price is a gold-plated bronze cast of Pele’s foot made by celebrity sculptor Dante Mortet.
Outside football, singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake, actor-producer Mark Wahlberg, retired Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova and the National Basketball Association all donated items.
“Anything from Pele people will want, but you mention Ronaldo, you mention Mbappe, those icons will be sought after,” said Nolan of the Portugal and France forwards.
“But because it is a charity auction people always show up, they are always extremely generous and they pay more than in a normal auction because they know it is going to a good cause.”
This is not the first auction organised by Pele. In 2016 he auctioned more than 1,600 items from a collection he accumulated over six decades in the limelight and raised 3.6 million pounds (S$6.7 million).
This latest auction will take place at the Mall Galleries in London and is also open to online bidders.
-Reuters
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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